LUQMAN CLOETE and ESTER MBATHERATHE voting in yesterday’s constituency by-elections got off to a slow start, with presiding officers predicting that numbers would pick up after working hours.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) yesterday conducted by-elections in Windhoek, at Keetmanshoop, Gobabis and Walvis Bay to replace councillors who resigned last year to take a gamble for seats in the National Assembly.
In Windhoek, the by-election for the Khomasdal constituency councillor kicked off with a low turnout with only a handful of voters having turned up at polling stations by 08h00, despite their opening an hour earlier.
Nampa visited seven of the 15 polling stations in the constituency and the only polling station that recorded a high number of voters at the time was Augustinium Secondary School polling station, where four people had voted by 08h15.
Presiding officer, Negumbo Benjamin, said things were going smoothly except that they had to turn away voters from different constituencies.
Other polling stations were Acacia High School, which had one voter by 08h00, Gammams Primary School with two, and the Mao Zedong High School at Otjomuise, where the presiding officer could not provide the exact number of voters that had cast their votes, conceding only that they were few. The Khomasdal constituency by-election was necessitated by the resignation of former councillor Margaret Mensah-Williams last year.
Candidates in the race for the Khomasdal constituency position are Samuel Angolo representing the Swapo Party alongside Reggie Diergaardt for the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), Mara Baumgartner for the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) and Bartholomeus Tjiunomuinjo Kauahuma for Swanu.
Keetmanshoop constituency
At Keemtanshoop, a steady stream of voters trickled into each of the nine polling stations in the constituency yesterday morning to vote for their favourite candidates running for the constituency seat.
The candidates are LPM member Maxie Minnaar, PDM representative Abraham Goagoseb and Festus Shilimela of Swapo.
Presiding officers told The Namibian that about 300 people had voted at each of the nine polling stations at Keetmanshoop.
About 11 000 voters were eligible to vote in the by-election.
The ECN returning officer for //Kharas region, Richard /Narib, said he was pleased with the voter turnout and described it as “quite satisfactory”.
The returning officer said they expected a larger voter turnout after working hours yesterday.
“It is a working day, therefore, the voter turnout is low but steady. I think it (voting) will pick up when people knock off from work,” he said.
/Narib said no technical glitches were reported during the voting, and added that voter education the ECN conducted had been effective.
He, however, said a few people who were registered as voters in other constituencies had turned up to vote in the by-election.
“Our officials explained to them that they are not eligible to vote in this by-election,” he added.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Walvis Bay Urban residents flocked to the different polling stations at the town to choose between four youthful candidates for the constituency. The position for constituency councillor is being contested by two independent candidates, Knowledge Ndunge Ipinge and Jason Kenneth Ilonga. Other candidates are Swapo Party’s Sirie Topulathana and Richard Hoaeb representing PDM.
The four are vying for the position left vacant after the resignation of long-serving Hafeni Ndemula ahead of the 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections.
The by-election kicked off with a low turn-out at some polling stations. The ECN has set up the 10 fixed polling stations and nine mobile ones for the by-election.
Kuisebmond community hall was the busiest of the polling stations and had about 300 voters casting their ballots before 10h00.
“My time is over, I am old, but we have to vote for community leaders who will ensure a conducive environment for us. Walvis Bay must become a good place again,” said kuku Martha Andima, who cast her vote at Kuisebmond community hall.
Electronic voting machines were used during the by-elections. Some voters said that they have little confidence in the machines.
Another constituency resident said: “I am not sure if the EVMs are really working as we expect them to. I am not sure but I have to vote for my leader who will lead this community.”
Whoever takes over the administration of the constituency will be faced with an upsurge in unemployment and housing shortages, which is attributed to the influx of people from rural areas in search of job opportunities at the town.
Walvis Bay Urban constituency is home to the fishing industry, which is the country’s second biggest foreign currency earner after mining.
