Special voting for the 2025 regional council and local authority elections began across the country on Monday, with presiding officers reporting a calm and orderly start as police officers and deployed election officials cast their early ballots.
Special voting is conducted to accommodate uniformed officers such as the police, members of the Namibian Defence Force and polling station officers to allow them to continue delivering essential services uninterrupted on election day.
At Suiderhof Primary School in Windhoek East, presiding officer Hendriene Alfred on Monday said operations were running without disruption.
“So far we have not faced any hiccups,” she noted, adding that the turnout is expected to increase later in the day.
“It is still early, but movement will pick up.”
At Walvis Bay, the special voting station at Kuisebmond Baptist Church opened at 09h00.
Presiding officer Filemon Makili said everything was in place and ready.
“We are waiting for police officers on the deployment list to come through and vote,” he said.
Similar scenes were observed in the north, where several Oshikoto police officers lined up early at Omuthiya Police Station.
The officers will be deployed to different constituencies on Wednesday.
At Tsumkwe Secondary School in the Otjozondjupa region, presiding officer Sydney Coma confirmed that the process had kicked off smoothly, with no major challenges reported.
At Otjiwarongo, special voting at Swanevelder Hall got off to a slow but steady start.
Officials there are targeting police officers and Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) staff scheduled for deployment.
“Voting started slowly but smoothly,” officials reported, indicating confidence in the day’s proceedings.
Outjo also reported a smooth start. Returning officer Moses Amamub said the low turnout was expected, given that only election staff leaving for remote deployment were eligible to vote.
“We do not expect a big turnout today,” he said.
“Only those going to farms and villages will cast their votes.”
Special voting continues ahead of the nationwide polls scheduled for Wednesday.
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