Itula accepts court ruling but challenges ECN’s election interpretation

Independent Patriots for Change president (IPC) leader Panduleni Itula says the party accepts the judgement from the Supreme Court which dismissed having last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections nullified.

However, Itula yesterday told Desert FM that while they accept the judgement, they do not necessarily agree with the vision or interpretation of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN).

Itula called on his supporters to accept the ruling and move forward following the judgement.

“We need to have a careful look at our electoral law. What is it that the electoral law provides that is unusual?

“In terms of section one, subsection two, it actually provides that whenever you are interpreting the electoral law you must have due regard to the rights, responsibilities and duties in the Namibian Constitution,” Itula said.

According to Itula, challenging electoral outcomes is going to continue all over the world and in Namibia. He advises all Namibians to understand that in order for them to secure the legitimacy of the outcome of elections, everyone must be the guardians of those ballots.

Itula stated that if there is ever any voting extension, citizens need to have contingent plans to be able to refresh those watching over ballots and the election processes.

“In the absence of commitment from the Namibian people themselves to protect this democracy, any future challenges to the courts in the absence of concrete evidence, it’s not going to succeed.

Unfortunately, courts don’t have eyes during the electoral process,” Itula said.

Meanwhile, lawyer Richard Metcalfe says not Swapo, IPC nor the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) can be blamed for the Supreme Court ruling.

This comes after the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge against last year’s presidential election brought by opposition parties, clearing the way for Swapo’s Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to take office in March.

Metcalfe says the Supreme Court’s decision must be respected, as it is the final decision maker in Namibia’s constitutional democracy and has acquitted itself of its role with its usual aplomb and dignity.

“Neither the opposition nor the ruling party can be blamed for the approaches they adopted. The problem was initiated by an inept ECN, who surely will rectify procedures for the next election.

It is a learning process from which nobody can afford to be arrogant and see themselves as faultless,” Metcalfe told The Namibian yesterday.

He added that moving forward, the ECN needs to earn the trust of the electorate for all Namibians to have full confidence in the electoral process for the future.

“The shoddy ECN performance neither strengthens or weakens any political party as their efficient handling of the national election could cut either way for the ruling party or opposition parties,” he said.

The lawyer explained that the unpredictable nature of the electorate is a factor for all to consider, especially where the results show a fragile majority for the ruling party.

He said all political parties must engage with the ECN immediately to ensure that future elections are scheduled and administered with competence to foster public trust in any electoral outcome.

Meanwhile, political analyst Johan Coetzee says one cannot have good governance or a democratic rule in any country if one does not accept and move forward.

According to Coetzee, the judgement does not mean it is the end for opposition parties.

“I think it’s just the beginning of the axe to grind with the ruling party that you will see in the next few years,” he says.

Speaking Desert FM yesterday, he said this provides an opportunity for IPC to combine forces with LPM and other smaller parties to form a stronger union in parliament.

He emphasised that the opposition needed to form alliances to have an impact in parliament.

“The fact that the two parties have combined in their opposition towards the outcome of the elections in terms of the procedural injustices is a positive indication that opposition parties can work together,” Coetzee said.

He said he believes LPM will have one of the strongest impacts in parliament.

However, he added that because they’ve lost so many of their members in parliament, they need to combine with some of the other parties.

“You definitely need to extend your party politics beyond land issues and beyond the regional issues.

I think identity politics needs to, and it can, slowly start moving away in Namibia. Not completely away, but you need to have broad-based political support in Namibia, like the ruling party,” he said.

Coetzee said parties cannot focus on identity politics that only represent a small group in society anymore.

“I think it’s only the bigger parties that definitely will have an impact. The other ones are new in parliament. They don’t know the ropes,” he said.

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