Grootfontein electors flock to polling booths

VOTERS in the Grootfontein constituency appeared set yesterday to turn around a trend of declining poll turnouts in Regional Council elections at the town.

Queues assembled at the electorate’s five fixed polling points through the day, their will to vote apparently not dampened by a heavy downpour of rain early in the afternoon. Early indications were that the town’s electorate was on course to improving on the disappointing turnout – 27,4 per cent of the 13 210 eligible voters – recorded at the last Regional Council elections held there, in 1998.Philemon Kanime, the Director of Elections, pronounced himself satisfied with the poll process when he spoke to The Namibian while making the rounds of polling stations in the afternoon.He said that ballot papers – whose printing was delayed until Tuesday afternoon pending a court ruling on the participation of a National Unity Democratic Organisation candidate in the by-election – were eventually printed on Tuesday evening, and ready to be transported to Grootfontein on Wednesday morning.Kanime did not want to speculate on the eventual turnout but noted that voters had been streaming steadily into polling stations, with an upsurge expected after working hours.He said that any people still queuing at the stations at 21h00 last night, when the polls were set to close, would still be allowed to cast their votes.At this by-election, which is to fill a single vacancy, 14 504 voters are enrolled on the Grootfontein constituency list.In Grootfontein’s first Regional Council election, voters totalled 10 359, of whom 85 per cent turned up to choose a Swapo candidate as their first Regional Councillor.By 1998, the Swapo candidate was returned with a substantially increased share of the vote in a poll that registered a turnout of less than one-third that proportion.The Swapo candidate in yesterday’s by-election, Peter Kawana, declined to predict the turnout this time around, saying: “I only know I will win, overwhelmingly”.Congress of Democrats President Ben Ulenga, whose party is testing its support among Grootfontein voters for only the second time, has been in town over the past week to direct the CoD campaign.He said late yesterday that he was certain the CoD would not only hold onto the support it received at its poll debut – in the national elections at the end of 1999, when the party polled 12 per cent of the vote in the Grootfontein constituency – but would improve its standing and emerge “with flying colours”.The DTA’s candidate, Edgard Francis, likewise expressed confidence about his chances, saying he thought he would be doing very well once the poll results were out.Marais Blaauw, the candidate for one of the newcomers to elections in this town – the Republican Party, a former DTA affiliate – said it was heartening to see the extent of enthusiasm the RP had encountered among voters.He said the poll would be a test run for the RP, so soon after its reawakening as a party separate from the DTA.Realistically, it cannot expect to hurt Swapo at the ballot box this time around, but Blaauw said he foresaw it ending up as the second strongest party at this poll.According to Kanime, the counting of ballots – which were to be stored overnight at the Grootfontein Police Station – is to start this morning.A result could be announced by midday.Early indications were that the town’s electorate was on course to improving on the disappointing turnout – 27,4 per cent of the 13 210 eligible voters – recorded at the last Regional Council elections held there, in 1998. Philemon Kanime, the Director of Elections, pronounced himself satisfied with the poll process when he spoke to The Namibian while making the rounds of polling stations in the afternoon. He said that ballot papers – whose printing was delayed until Tuesday afternoon pending a court ruling on the participation of a National Unity Democratic Organisation candidate in the by-election – were eventually printed on Tuesday evening, and ready to be transported to Grootfontein on Wednesday morning. Kanime did not want to speculate on the eventual turnout but noted that voters had been streaming steadily into polling stations, with an upsurge expected after working hours. He said that any people still queuing at the stations at 21h00 last night, when the polls were set to close, would still be allowed to cast their votes. At this by-election, which is to fill a single vacancy, 14 504 voters are enrolled on the Grootfontein constituency list. In Grootfontein’s first Regional Council election, voters totalled 10 359, of whom 85 per cent turned up to choose a Swapo candidate as their first Regional Councillor. By 1998, the Swapo candidate was returned with a substantially increased share of the vote in a poll that registered a turnout of less than one-third that proportion. The Swapo candidate in yesterday’s by-election, Peter Kawana, declined to predict the turnout this time around, saying: “I only know I will win, overwhelmingly”. Congress of Democrats President Ben Ulenga, whose party is testing its support among Grootfontein voters for only the second time, has been in town over the past week to direct the CoD campaign. He said late yesterday that he was certain the CoD would not only hold onto the support it received at its poll debut – in the national elections at the end of 1999, when the party polled 12 per cent of the vote in the Grootfontein constituency – but would improve its standing and emerge “with flying colours”. The DTA’s candidate, Edgard Francis, likewise expressed confidence about his chances, saying he thought he would be doing very well once the poll results were out. Marais Blaauw, the candidate for one of the newcomers to elections in this town – the Republican Party, a former DTA affiliate – said it was heartening to see the extent of enthusiasm the RP had encountered among voters. He said the poll would be a test run for the RP, so soon after its reawakening as a party separate from the DTA. Realistically, it cannot expect to hurt Swapo at the ballot box this time around, but Blaauw said he foresaw it ending up as the second strongest party at this poll. According to Kanime, the counting of ballots – which were to be stored overnight at the Grootfontein Police Station – is to start this morning. A result could be announced by midday.