Namibian youth exercise their democratic right
On 27 November 2019, young people from all over the country flocked to the polling stations to cast their vote for 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections.
TUNOHOLE MUNGOBA
Among the 1 358 468 registered voters, there are 403 106 born-frees (those born from 1990 onwards) and 8 623 millennials (born from 2000 onwards) according to statistics provided by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN).
The Khomas, Ohangwena and Omusati regions have the highest numbers of registered voters.
The My Zone team was deployed at polling stations in Katutura, Khomasdal and Otjomuise to talk to young voters about their experiences.
Titus Shitaatala, a 21-year-old student who voted at the Otjomuise Community Hall, said the process was extremely slow and he drove around Windhoek in search of a polling station that was not full.
“It takes about five minutes for one person to vote and that is way too much time. With the help of the EVMs (electronic voting machines), one would think it would be twice as fast,” he said.
Other young people shared the same sentiments after newspaper reports by Namibian Sun said that the voting process was delayed in a few constituencies because of malfunctioning EVMs.
Rauna Iyambo, a 24-year-old student, said she decided not to vote because she was discouraged by the long queues.
“When I registered to go and vote, I was really excited as it was going to be my first election, but when I did not get a chance to wake up early enough in the morning, I decided to go after 17:00. It was then when the queues were really slow and I gave up,” she said.
Kimberly Mathe cast her vote at the University of Namibia (Unam) and she said the voting process was “satisfactory and encouraging”. She was joined in the queue by her close friends, which made the process much easier.
Among the 1 358 468 registered voters, there are 403 106 born-frees (those born from 1990 onwards) and 8 623 millennials (born from 2000 onwards) according to statistics provided by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN).
The Khomas, Ohangwena and Omusati regions have the highest numbers of registered voters.
The My Zone team was deployed at polling stations in Katutura, Khomasdal and Otjomuise to talk to young voters about their experiences.
Titus Shitaatala, a 21-year-old student who voted at the Otjomuise Community Hall, said the process was extremely slow and he drove around Windhoek in search of a polling station that was not full.
“It takes about five minutes for one person to vote and that is way too much time. With the help of the EVMs (electronic voting machines), one would think it would be twice as fast,” he said.
Other young people shared the same sentiments after newspaper reports by Namibian Sun said that the voting process was delayed in a few constituencies because of malfunctioning EVMs.
Rauna Iyambo, a 24-year-old student, said she decided not to vote because she was discouraged by the long queues.
“When I registered to go and vote, I was really excited as it was going to be my first election, but when I did not get a chance to wake up early enough in the morning, I decided to go after 17:00. It was then when the queues were really slow and I gave up,” she said.
Kimberly Mathe cast her vote at the University of Namibia (Unam) and she said the voting process was “satisfactory and encouraging”. She was joined in the queue by her close friends, which made the process much easier.
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Namibian Sun
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