The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) says the counting of ballots cast during special voting will not be done immediately after the closing of polls, but ballots will be counted together after the closing of polling stations on Wednesday.
This was said by ECN chief electoral and referenda officer Peter Shaama in a statement on Saturday.
“In accordance with the procedures governing special voting, no counting of votes will take place immediately after the close of the poll on 24 November,” he said.
He said votes cast by special voters will be placed in sealed ballot paper envelopes and subsequently placed in the designated ballot box.
This, he said, is for the purpose of safekeeping, in which presiding officers will, in the presence of election agents, seal these ballot boxes.
This will also be done in front of contesting political parties, organisations, associations and independent candidates, who will be allowed to affix their seals.
Shaama explained that ballot papers cast during special voting will be opened and counted and the final results announced together with all other votes cast during the main election on Wednesday.
“This consolidated counting process takes place at the same polling stations as the main voting,” he added.
The Electoral Act mandates that presiding officers must open all the special voting ballot paper envelopes and remove them from the ballot papers concerned.
The votes recorded on these ballot papers, Shaama said, are then counted along with the ordinary ballot papers removed from ballot boxes.
The counted result of all votes, including those cast by special voters, will then be announced in the prescribed manner, Shaama explained.
This integrated approach, the ECN said, reinforces transparency and the integrity of the electoral process.
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