Unfair to exclude some regions from extended election – Zambezi opposition leaders

Some opposition leaders in the Zambezi region say the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s decision to extend the elections in a few regions is unfair to those in excluded regions.

The ECN on Thursday announced that the election would be extended for two days.

Popular Democratic Movement regional coordinator Geoffrey Mwilima on Friday said the polling stations in the region closed exactly at 21h00, with many voters being sent away.

He said they did not come back even after the deadline was extended.

“It was also difficult for voters to come back to the venues because it was too late when they heard of the time extension. Furthermore, most of the mobile teams came late to their respective venues, at which point people gave up and went home. Therefore, it was imperative that the two-day voting extension was supposed to be countrywide to be fair for everyone that did not get a chance to vote,” he said.

Mwilima said the elections should be nullified, adding that Namibia, with such a small population, cannot have elections for days.

“The ECN has dismally failed to run free and fair elections,” he said.

Independent Patriot For Change regional coordinator Elvis Lizazi says: “It’s truly unfortunate that not all the regions were included. I received reports from the Chetto area that some people were unable to vote at night because the generator was having problems.

“I feel the shortage of the ballot papers was done deliberately by the ECN to bring about this extension,” he says.

CASTING VOTES … Kongola residents cast their votes at Masheshe Grain Storage polling station during Wednesday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.