Former constituency councillor for Kabbe South, John Likando, has called on voters in the constituency to reject secessionist notions, emphasising the importance of national unity and democratic processes for development.
Likando said this yesterday after casting his vote at Nakabolelwa Combined School in the ongoing by-election.
He said people should continue to exercise their democratic right and resist any form of sedition or separation of the Zambezi region from Namibia.
“The people of this constituency will always remain Namibian. Kabbe South forms an integral part of this country.
We believe it’s through democratic processes that we can develop our rural areas, and much has been done through this,” he said.
Likando said ever since independence, the people of Kabbe South and Zambezi have always promoted development and sought prosperity and unity through democratic exercises.
He added that people should resist any form of developmental delays and secessionist ‘agenda’ they see.
“For the past five years, the government has spent millions on ongoing projects, and people still have confidence in the government and should denounce any aim of bringing instability,” he noted.
The by-election in Kabbe South constituency was necessitated by Likando’s resignation in March after he was appointed to serve in the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the constituency experienced a low turnout of people for the by-elections, which started yesterday morning.
By 08h30, fewer than 50 registered voters had cast their votes.
Poor turnout was also observed at other polling stations, Zambezi regional electoral officer for the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) Lesley Simwanza has said.
“Yes, you saw they were on time here at Nakabolelwa, and we are still on point, but the turnout is low this morning,” he said.
Likando and current vying Swapo candidate Raymond Sezuni were among those first to cast their votes at Nakabolelwa.
Sezuni urged the electorate to come out in numbers, while Likando expressed satisfaction with the number of polling stations set up in the flood-prone constituency.
On Sunday afternoon during the deployment of the 127 polling officials from Katima Mulilo to the Nakabolelwa collation centre, ECN returning officer for the Kabbe South by-election Kahimbi Masule said there are 24 fixed teams comprising of five members, with an additional two police officers for security reasons.
Additionally, seven mobile teams will cover over 16 villages in the constituency.
There are a total of 3 509 registered voters in the Kabbe South constituency who are expected to cast their votes for a new constituency councillor.
Sezuni and Independent Patriots for Change candidate Sydney Shamwazi are the only two candidates contesting in the by-elections.
– Nampa
