Parties fume at ECN
Threats of legal challenges and other frustrations have emerged in the run-up to the election.
Political parties have accused the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) of deliberately misinterpreting the Electoral Act in an attempt to hinder parties from fielding candidates.
This follows the ECN's announcement that party members employed in the public service, and those who are member of the National Council, regional councils or local authorities, must resign upon their nomination as candidates for political office.
The ECN also requested parties to attach the membership cards of their candidates, or affidavits made by these candidates, to prove their party membership.
Chief electoral officer Theo Mujoro says this directive is in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act of 2014 and section 46 of the Namibian constitution.
“Our understanding is that you cannot be nominated to be a member of the National Assembly if you fall in those categories. This issue affects all political parties,” he said.
The leader of the official opposition, McHenry Venaani of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), said the ECN interpreted the law wrongly and that candidates should only resign once elected.
“We are going to take them to court and challenge that rule in court. Every person who runs for office must be given a fair ride. If you want to run for office, you cannot resign from office. The day you assume office is the day you should resign from office,” he said.
Venaani also said that the ECN's rule was unconstitutional and would ultimately deny Namibians their constitutional right to run for office.
Mike Kavekotora, the president of the Rally of Democracy and Progress (RDP), agreed that the ECN was misinterpreting the Electoral Act in conjunction with the constitution.
He said the practice has always been that candidates for political office only resigned from public service once they were elected.
“I do not believe that the spirit of the constitution and the Electoral Act was to punish people who want to stand for political office.
“Therefore I strongly believe that … the intent of the law is to give people their democratic right to stand for political office and once they are successful, then they resign from the public service. And that has been the practice,” said Kavekotora.
Political analyst Graham Hopwood, on the other hand, feels that the ECN may be correct in its interpretation of the law.
According to him, the Electoral Act should be amended to allow more flexibility, since the most practical approach would be to require elected candidates to resign from their positions after the election and before they are sworn in as National Assembly members, which is usually a period of several months.
“In practical terms, the law makes little sense as it is clearly unfair to expect candidates to resign their public or elected positions before they know whether they've even been elected to the National Assembly.
“It would have been advisable for the ECN to inform parties of its interpretation of the law before electoral colleges were held so that lists only consisted of people not in the public service or serving as elected councillors,” he said.
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JEMIMA BEUKES
This follows the ECN's announcement that party members employed in the public service, and those who are member of the National Council, regional councils or local authorities, must resign upon their nomination as candidates for political office.
The ECN also requested parties to attach the membership cards of their candidates, or affidavits made by these candidates, to prove their party membership.
Chief electoral officer Theo Mujoro says this directive is in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act of 2014 and section 46 of the Namibian constitution.
“Our understanding is that you cannot be nominated to be a member of the National Assembly if you fall in those categories. This issue affects all political parties,” he said.
The leader of the official opposition, McHenry Venaani of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), said the ECN interpreted the law wrongly and that candidates should only resign once elected.
“We are going to take them to court and challenge that rule in court. Every person who runs for office must be given a fair ride. If you want to run for office, you cannot resign from office. The day you assume office is the day you should resign from office,” he said.
Venaani also said that the ECN's rule was unconstitutional and would ultimately deny Namibians their constitutional right to run for office.
Mike Kavekotora, the president of the Rally of Democracy and Progress (RDP), agreed that the ECN was misinterpreting the Electoral Act in conjunction with the constitution.
He said the practice has always been that candidates for political office only resigned from public service once they were elected.
“I do not believe that the spirit of the constitution and the Electoral Act was to punish people who want to stand for political office.
“Therefore I strongly believe that … the intent of the law is to give people their democratic right to stand for political office and once they are successful, then they resign from the public service. And that has been the practice,” said Kavekotora.
Political analyst Graham Hopwood, on the other hand, feels that the ECN may be correct in its interpretation of the law.
According to him, the Electoral Act should be amended to allow more flexibility, since the most practical approach would be to require elected candidates to resign from their positions after the election and before they are sworn in as National Assembly members, which is usually a period of several months.
“In practical terms, the law makes little sense as it is clearly unfair to expect candidates to resign their public or elected positions before they know whether they've even been elected to the National Assembly.
“It would have been advisable for the ECN to inform parties of its interpretation of the law before electoral colleges were held so that lists only consisted of people not in the public service or serving as elected councillors,” he said.
[email protected]
JEMIMA BEUKES
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