Guarding against voter apathy

Namibians will once again go to the polls towards the end of next year to participate in both the presidential and parliamentary elections. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of any democracy and Namibia is no exception. Through the election of public representatives, the citizenry make a fundamental contribution to the democratic governance of our nation. Obviously there is still a long way to go to the general elections and we are yet to see the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) pronouncing itself on the registration dates for the 2019 polls. The ECN has an important role to play and its mandate does not only end with organising national, local and regional authority elections. It requires a proactive ECN to ensure that eligible voters are geared up for any elections taking place. Voter education is critical in sensitising the citizenry on democracy as well as their obligations, responsibilities and rights when it comes to elections. Despite 28 years of democracy, Namibia still suffers high voter apathy, especially among the ranks of the youth. Bar the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2014, there have significant signs that enthusiasm to vote in local and regional authority elections have been waning in the country. The youth vote will once again prove to be decisive and political parties will be hoping to use their campaigns to entice this specific bloc of potential voters. It remains to be seen whether the ECN will focus a greater part of its voter education programmes on targeting the youth, who will make about 60% of potential voters. Also how is voter education impacting on those living in rural areas in all corners of our country? Increasing voter apathy is a very dangerous trend, which may have negative consequences on the legitimacy and other components of democracy. It is not only the ECN's responsibility to tackle voter apathy, but equally the media and non-governmental organisations need to do more and engage on the right platforms to promote a non-partisan voter education campaign, for the sake of our democracy.