EVMs are here to stay
The new chief electoral officer says people who complain that electronic voting machines can be rigged are forgetting past allegations of ballot-box stuffing.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia's new chief electoral officer, Theo Mujoro, is determined to convince Namibians of the safety of electronic voting machines (EVMs), saying that Doubting Thomases must do better than speculating about the machines' loopholes.
Mujoro believes it is important to understand the source of the suspicion.
He also insists that the ECN must point out the problems bound to be encountered to the nation, and certainly will challenge those who have doubts about the EVMs.
“If somebody makes a statement that alleges issues about a particular thing, isn't it fair that such people are given an opportunity to just explain ... whatever they are alleging and prove that?”
In an exclusive interview with Namibian Sun last week, Mujoro said he had closely followed the public criticism and heated parliamentary debates about the EVMs, and the reservations were in most cases unsubstantiated. “They would say we feel these EVMs can be manipulated to favour or prejudice some or other party. But these types of things are not uncommon in an event of political contestation.
“These things are bound to be said by different people for different reasons. We had even worse accusations, allegations and rumours during the times we used ballot papers.
“We were talking about ballot stuffing. People were talking about the ECN printing more ballot papers than were required. From our standpoint the EVMs have really enhanced the voting process,” he said. Mujoro also argues that there too many problems associated with the use of the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or verifiable paper record (VPR). This machine was made in India, and Mujoro argues that the kinds of problems faced in India may not be applicable in Namibia.
“Let's not forget we are talking about two different contexts here, looking at our level of advancement as a society as a nation but also our maturity in politics. India has more years of experience in the democratic process than Namibia. As a responsible election management body we will not allow for a situation where we introduce a system or device which is prone to errors,” he said.
According to him, the use of the VVPAT, which is prone to paper jams, would compromise vote secrecy, which is non-negotiable for ECN.
“If you are demanding that we use the VVPAT we will point out the issues with the VVPAT in its current form. But we can go a step further and say there is also this alternative but it will cost this much. There is this voting method that has got an inbuilt VVPAT and it will cost this country N$100 million.”
Opposition
Last month the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) tabled a motion in parliament calling for the abolishment of EVMs because they are allegedly slow and unreliable.
RDP MP Mike Kavekotora, who introduced the motion, believes it would be better to return to ballot papers.
“These machines are unreliable, untrustworthy and insecure and they have in actual fact slowed down the voting, the counting process and the release of election results in Namibia,” he said.
Official political opposition leader McHenry Venaani also indicated that his party rejects the use of EVMs without a paper trail.
JEMIMA BEUKES
Mujoro believes it is important to understand the source of the suspicion.
He also insists that the ECN must point out the problems bound to be encountered to the nation, and certainly will challenge those who have doubts about the EVMs.
“If somebody makes a statement that alleges issues about a particular thing, isn't it fair that such people are given an opportunity to just explain ... whatever they are alleging and prove that?”
In an exclusive interview with Namibian Sun last week, Mujoro said he had closely followed the public criticism and heated parliamentary debates about the EVMs, and the reservations were in most cases unsubstantiated. “They would say we feel these EVMs can be manipulated to favour or prejudice some or other party. But these types of things are not uncommon in an event of political contestation.
“These things are bound to be said by different people for different reasons. We had even worse accusations, allegations and rumours during the times we used ballot papers.
“We were talking about ballot stuffing. People were talking about the ECN printing more ballot papers than were required. From our standpoint the EVMs have really enhanced the voting process,” he said. Mujoro also argues that there too many problems associated with the use of the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or verifiable paper record (VPR). This machine was made in India, and Mujoro argues that the kinds of problems faced in India may not be applicable in Namibia.
“Let's not forget we are talking about two different contexts here, looking at our level of advancement as a society as a nation but also our maturity in politics. India has more years of experience in the democratic process than Namibia. As a responsible election management body we will not allow for a situation where we introduce a system or device which is prone to errors,” he said.
According to him, the use of the VVPAT, which is prone to paper jams, would compromise vote secrecy, which is non-negotiable for ECN.
“If you are demanding that we use the VVPAT we will point out the issues with the VVPAT in its current form. But we can go a step further and say there is also this alternative but it will cost this much. There is this voting method that has got an inbuilt VVPAT and it will cost this country N$100 million.”
Opposition
Last month the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) tabled a motion in parliament calling for the abolishment of EVMs because they are allegedly slow and unreliable.
RDP MP Mike Kavekotora, who introduced the motion, believes it would be better to return to ballot papers.
“These machines are unreliable, untrustworthy and insecure and they have in actual fact slowed down the voting, the counting process and the release of election results in Namibia,” he said.
Official political opposition leader McHenry Venaani also indicated that his party rejects the use of EVMs without a paper trail.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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