RP cries foul over Nkurenkuru poll

AN opposition party that won a seat in the first local authority election at the recently proclaimed town of Nkurenkuru last weekend says the overwhelming presence of ruling party members in Government vehicles and with large motorcades was uncalled for, as it “intimidated and confused voters”, tilting the vote in favour of Swapo.

“It was a small election with just 1 700 voters, but most prominent Swapo leaders and ministers visited Nkurenkuru in the past two or three weeks and the Swapo president was there twice, including last weekend with a large motorcade of over 80 vehicles plus Police and Defence Force vehicles. Who is paying that bill?” Henk Mudge, President of the Republican Party asked at a press conference on Monday.”We sincerely hope that Swapo will receive invoices from Government and pay for them,” he said.Mudge further alleged that some villages were not included in the municipal boundaries of the newly proclaimed town, as their residents were not staunch Swapo supporters.”They could not trust the party loyalty of these villages, so they kept them out of the boundaries,” he charged.He also found it alarming that only 761 of the 1 781 registered voters had identity documents.The others had to be registered by sworn statements.”Nkurenkuru is the home town of the Home Affairs minister (Rosalia Nghidinwa).How come these residents have no IDs after 17 years of independence?” he asked.The RP obtained one seat in the seven-member town council because of ‘surplus votes’ from Swapo, which were not sufficient to snatch the seventh seat.According to the Electoral Commission, 218 votes were needed for each seat after 1 525 valid votes were counted and two votes were rejected.Swapo received 1 375 votes, the RP 103, the CoD 29 votes, the DTA 12 and Nudo six votes.In terms of the the proportional electoral system in Namibia, if there are not enough votes remaining for another seat, these votes go to the party with the next highest votes.In this case, 67 surplus Swapo votes went to the RP.Who is paying that bill?” Henk Mudge, President of the Republican Party asked at a press conference on Monday.”We sincerely hope that Swapo will receive invoices from Government and pay for them,” he said.Mudge further alleged that some villages were not included in the municipal boundaries of the newly proclaimed town, as their residents were not staunch Swapo supporters.”They could not trust the party loyalty of these villages, so they kept them out of the boundaries,” he charged.He also found it alarming that only 761 of the 1 781 registered voters had identity documents.The others had to be registered by sworn statements.”Nkurenkuru is the home town of the Home Affairs minister (Rosalia Nghidinwa).How come these residents have no IDs after 17 years of independence?” he asked.The RP obtained one seat in the seven-member town council because of ‘surplus votes’ from Swapo, which were not sufficient to snatch the seventh seat.According to the Electoral Commission, 218 votes were needed for each seat after 1 525 valid votes were counted and two votes were rejected.Swapo received 1 375 votes, the RP 103, the CoD 29 votes, the DTA 12 and Nudo six votes.In terms of the the proportional electoral system in Namibia, if there are not enough votes remaining for another seat, these votes go to the party with the next highest votes.In this case, 67 surplus Swapo votes went to the RP.