Lawmakers question ECN’s annual rental strategy

Members of parliament have raised serious concerns over the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN) continued reliance on renting property and equipment ahead of every election cycle, questioning the sustainability of this model.During ECN’s budget debate last week, the members urged the institution to instead invest in its own assets to reduce long-term costs and improve operational efficiency.Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) member of parliament Inna Hengari, during her contribution, questioned why a body tasked with delivering one of the country’s most critical democratic exercises lacks permanent infrastructure and equipment. “For a body mandated to carry out such a critical national exercise every election cycle, it should be expected that it would require vehicles, equipment and office space. Is renting, whether property or equipment, a sustainable long-term strategy for such an important institution?” she asked.“Take churches, for instance: instead of renting instruments like guitars, microphones or keyboards every Sunday, they gradually purchase their own," Hengari pointed out. "They use their tithes, perhaps even from the Minister of Justice and set aside funds to invest in permanent equipment for their choir. Why should the ECN not do the same? Invest in equipment and assets they know will be required every electoral cycle, rather than repeatedly renting them? It would save money and increase operational reliability,” she added.Meanwhile, Body of Christ Party leader Festus Thomas criticised the ECN’s alleged lack of transparency around vehicle rental costs during elections. “Every election, ECN hires a large number of vehicles at costs that are not disclosed. Why can they not just purchase their own fleet instead of repeatedly spending large sums on rentals? They do not seem to be managing these hired assets well either. So, what’s really going on?” Thomas asked.“That is why we are saying this budget needs to be referred back. We need to know exactly where the money is going. What are they doing with the funds? Or is there some hidden channel where money flows in and is quietly syphoned off?" Thomas said. Additionally, Affirmative Repositioning&#039;s George Kambala suggested that insurance policies for privately owned vehicles hired by the ECN must be reviewed and strengthened. “Every year, the ECN requests vehicles from the public. However, when vehicles are returned damaged by the ECN, insurance companies refuse to cover the costs. So, either the ECN must take responsibility for the damages, or we need to increase the insurance coverage for these vehicles,” Kambala said.Operational failures Hengari also dismissed the notion that the ECN is underfunded. “For example, during the previous elections, I believe an amount of N$47 million was allocated specifically to encourage youth participation in the electoral process. Then, closer to the election, it was announced that around 2 172 vehicles were needed by the ECN to transport materials and personnel,” she said.“So, while one might want to focus on the budget figures and allocations, it&#039;s equally important to conduct some introspection: what exactly happened during the last election with the funds allocated to the ECN?"She added: "First, we ran out of ballot papers at certain polling stations. Second, some voters were left frustrated and decided to go home without casting their votes. These are serious operational failures."“Therefore, I don&#039;t believe the solution lies in simply throwing more money at the ECN. We need an honest and serious assessment of whether the institution’s strategy aligns with its primary objective, namely, to conduct fair, accessible and credible elections where all eligible citizens can freely exercise their right to vote."Budget allocations For the 2025/2026 financial year, the ECN has been allocated N$647 813 000. Of this, N$69 348 000 has been set aside for personnel expenditure, while N$578 465 000 is earmarked for non-personnel costs, covering day-to-day business and electoral operations.The commission’s budget is divided across two core programmes: elections administration (N$493 903 000) and voter and civic education (N$25 643 000). These are further supported by the policy coordination and support services programme (N$58 919 000), which provides administrative backing for the ECN’s electoral work.nikanor@nmh-hub.com.na

Lawmakers question ECN’s annual rental strategy

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Namibian Sun 2026-03-02

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Lawmakers question ECN’s annual rental strategy

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Namibian Sun 2026-03-02

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