ECN forges ahead with direct ballot procurement

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has cancelled open international bidding for ballot papers for the November elections after much furore from political parties. In a statement issued yesterday, the ECN said it realised that the ballots might be delivered late if they are procured through an international procurement process. The deadline for the international bidding process to print ballot papers for the 1 449 569 registered voters was set for 9 October. The decision to cancel the bidding came after a heated debate with political parties last week, who accused the commission of planning to hand-pick a ballot printer. This came after ECN pleaded with parties to be allowed to seek exemption from going through the normal tender process.“We deem this to be in the best interest of electoral democracy and public interest to avert the risk of the late delivery of the ballot papers. The commission has, through its internal procurement structures, considered alternative procurement methods in accordance with relevant provisions of the Public Procurement Act,” the ECN insisted. The electoral body has also committed to involving political parties in every step of the procurement process, and vowed to carry the costs involved. One-way streetLandless People’s Movement (LPM) spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa said the party is hesitant regarding the idea of direct procurement. “We do not trust ECN to be as transparent as it should be. They knew the dates, so this is just negligent. Now it is no longer open and transparent. We [political parties] are supposed to be involved regardless,” he said. Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) national secretary-general Christine Aochumus said when the party met with ECN, she told them that the Act does not give it powers for direct procurement. “They said they would follow the Act. We are not happy and not comfortable with ECN. We do not support direct procurement and if ECN already demonstrated they can take decisions, what is to stop them from just coming back and informing us that this is the decision they have taken? Why bother with a relationship that is a one-way street?” she wanted to know. jemima@nmh-hub.com.na

ECN forges ahead with direct ballot procurement

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-19

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ECN forges ahead with direct ballot procurement

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-19

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