Political Perspective

THE Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) is way off base if it wants to intimate that The Namibian’s concern that vital voter information was denied to this newspaper was for mercenary or monetary reasons. Rather it was because we feel our readers have a right to know what is happening concerning supplementary registration, or any other issues which have to do with the forthcoming elections, which is why we queried this omission.

(SOME) ECN officials themselves (not all, because I honestly believe a few of them are embarrassed about this clear bias exhibited by a body which is supposed to be neutral!) are surely trying to get the message out to the entire nation, and as such, could/should have thought of ways to circumvent the ban on The Namibian by Government in terms of paid advertising; that is, if they are serious about their mandate to reach out to all Namibians! But apparently not. Creative thinking is not something we can expect from people who are more concerned with political posturing than their vital mission to ensure free and fair elections. This cannot happen unless the electorate is fully informed about the process.The Government ban (in terms of Cabinet Resolution 38/05/12/2001) on advertising in this newspaper has been in place for years. So has the Presidential directive prohibiting the purchase of this newspaper with Government funds. We could have (and could still if we so wished) challenged the constitutionality of these decisions in our courts and would probably have won. (State monies, we need to remind some people, are not ‘owned’, but are administered by the Government on behalf of our people, most of whom are taxpayers). We chose not to take the legal route, primarily because the same critics would have then argued that The Namibian couldn’t exist without Government support and ran to the courts to seek redress. So we have survived without Government advertising in or buying copies of The Namibian since 2001. And it is up to them to withdraw the ban, which is not likely to happen, in my view, while the former President is still alive. And to give credit where it is due, there are several very senior people, such as Swapo Vice President and Trade Minister Hage Geingob, who have spoken out against the ban. So too did Minister Nangolo Mbumba attempt to have the ban lifted during the 2004 elections, for the same reason we now take issue with the ECN, but he failed. Others who were also party to the original Cabinet resolution include Rally for Democracy and Progress President Hidipo Hamutenya, who admitted it had been a mistake. In fact, privately, many senior politicians acknowledge the futility of the decision.But this is not about publishing paid advertisements. This is about voter information. And we all know and acknowledge the importance of voter education and its role in an informed society and we do our part to contribute to this goal.Again, as I had earlier pointed out to ECN Chairperson Victor Tonchi, the Commission could have approached all the print media to request they contribute, as a matter of public service, to disseminate the voter registration information, free of charge. Had they thought to do so, we would willingly have assisted. In this way, they could still have been seen to be obedient to the Government directive, at the same time as ensuring the public’s right to information. But they’ve blown their chance, and cannot now turn round and accuse us of trying to ‘generate revenue’ (their own words) from the ECN. This was never our intention.The Namibian, since its founding 24 years ago, has committed itself to public service and social responsibility, and many of its projects are well known. The newspaper is set up as a trust, and therefore is not ‘owned’ by shareholders who generally seek to maximise profits for personal gain. Our commitment is and always will be to our readers, and the people know this. And we will always fight for their rights and access to information.Perhaps it is no coincidence that no one in the ECN could tell us why The Namibian was not invited to a press conference just recently where the election dates were announced, for this information too, had to be accessed from other sources.So the self-serving arrogance of those at the ECN who accuse us of trying to ‘hijack the electoral process’ and ‘generate revenue’ from the Commission is unacceptable under the circumstances and an attempt to take attention away from their own inadequacies and lack of preparedness as the country moves towards the Presidential and national elections later this year.