Opposition claims MPs denied access to ECN nomination records

Opposition parties have claimed that members of parliament were being asked to approve the appointments of Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) commissioners without providing them with the necessary documentation underpinning the selection process.

Contributing to the resumed debate on the nomination of Dr Gerson Sindano as ECN chairperson, and Dr Emmerentia Leonard and Julieta Diva Ferreira as commissioners Tuesday, Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda questioned why Swapo MP Pohamba Shifeta had access to the nomination records while the rest of the House did not.

Referring to Shifeta's earlier contribution, Amupanda said the Swapo MP had confirmed that he had examined the records relating to the nominations.

"Shifeta has confirmed to us that he has seen the record. He has verified the record, and he is very happy that everything has been complied with. We have all heard that," Amupanda said.

While acknowledging Shifeta's seniority within Swapo, Amupanda questioned why one MP had been granted access to documents that had not been made available to the rest of parliament.

"He has told us here, Speaker, that he has seen the record. He has verified the record. There is nothing wrong with that," he said.

Amupanda said lawmakers were effectively being asked to rely on rumours rather than official records.

"He says that he saw there were three names nominated to the president. We do not know those names. We have not been told what they are," Amupanda said.

He also questioned the proposal to appoint Sindano as chairperson for the remainder of the current term, arguing that Article 94 of the Constitution provides for a five-year term.

Amupanda maintained that he could not properly exercise his constitutional duty without being afforded the same access.

"Therefore, I am saying... that in order for me to exercise my rights under Article 94 as a member, I must be placed in the same position as honourable Shifeta."

"I must be given access to the record that he has seen so that I can contribute. Maybe I will agree. Maybe I will not."

Without access, he asked: "What basis am I supposed to approve or disapprove? Is it on the basis of a rumour?"

Credibility

The debate also drew criticism from Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani, who argued that the issue was not Sindano's qualifications but the credibility and impartiality of the ECN.

"Win with credibility, so that when I lose, I lose with credibility. Don't win an election that was supposed to be conducted in one day, only for us to end up voting for five days," Venaani said.

Venaani said his party had previously opposed Sindano's appointment because of his former role as a personal assistant to Swapo secretary-general and president Nangolo Mbumba.

"The man you have proposed to become the chairperson of the commission does not have clean hands, in our view," Venaani said.

The opposition's criticism came after Shifeta defended the nomination process, telling the House that all provisions of the Electoral Act had been followed, from the public advertisement of vacancies and interviews conducted by the selection committee to the president's nominations.

Shifeta said the president had nominated Sindano as chairperson for the remainder of his current term, alongside Leonard and Ferreira as commissioners for five-year terms, and urged the National Assembly to approve the nominations.

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