SWAKOPMUND: The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), Dr Elsie Nghikembua has called for professionalism, transparency and non-partisan work ethic from registration officials assigned to foreign missions during the upcoming voters’ registration and polling.
This is in preparation for the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections and Regional and Local elections in 2025.
Nghikembua at Swakopmund on Monday, during the opening of two weeks of training for diplomatic mission staff members who will act as electoral officials at their respective foreign missions, stressed that the commission will not tolerate laxity by electoral staff in the undertaking of their duties or any conduct that compromises the commission’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the electoral process.
‘Section 65 of the Electoral Act provides for the commission to make appointments and withdraw such appointments in the event of negligence of duties. The penalties are outlined in Section 176 of the Act. You wil
l be fully briefed about these penalties as part of this training,’ she outlined.
The training is aimed at enabling the officials to understand their roles and responsibilities and to impart technical skills that will help them discharge their responsibilities.
The officials are expected to assist the commission in managing, directing, supervising and controlling all processes under their jurisdiction within the confines of the Electoral Act No. 5 of 2014.
Nghikembua added that as part of the preparations for the 2024 general registration of voters and Presidential and National Assembly Elections, the commission undertook a comprehensive electoral review process after the 2019 and 2020 Presidential and National Assembly Elections and the Regional Council and Local Authority Elections, respectively.
This review resulted in, amongst others, the enhancement of the current Mobile Voter Registration System into the Integrated Mobile Voter Registration System (IMVRS), an Integrated Solution, interfacing the vot
ers’ registration, identification and verification, registration of political parties and organisations/associations, among others.
‘The IMVRS leverages on technology to make voter registration more responsive and efficient, marking a significant milestone in our efforts to modernise and improve our electoral processes. The system incorporates advanced security and verification measures to ensure the integrity of the electoral processes.’
Nghikembua also noted that ballot papers will be used in the upcoming elections.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency