LPM slams ECN over ‘faulty’ election IT system
The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) has accused the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) of repeated failures in managing the country’s electoral process, saying the body continues to “shift blame” instead of addressing systemic flaws.
In a statement issued last week, the opposition party said the ECN’s claims that LPM was trying to discredit the institution were “false and misleading”, arguing that the commission had “not displayed any credit worthy of its name.”
LPM’s spokesperson LIfalaza Simataa said the problems stem from the Political Party Candidates Management (PPCM) system, introduced in 2024, which the party claims has been plagued by glitches since its launch.
“As LPM inserted names, the system gave feedback errors claiming voter registration numbers weren’t valid or found on the roll,” the statement read.
According to the party, the system also incorrectly associated some of its members with other political parties. “Even though confirmation was presented that the issue was not on our end, we still opted to find alternative participants to align with the system,” LPM noted.
No help
The party further alleged that ECN staff failed to cooperate during the nomination process. “We came to use the ECN facilities and brought several members to ensure that individuals can be placed on the system, but ECN refused to open more than one computer for the party,” the statement read.
LPM also accused returning officers of rejecting the party’s nomination manuals and insisting it use what it described as a “faulty system".
The part said ECN’s “failure to take accountability” threatens Namibia’s democracy. If ECN were a private entity, we would not trust it to continue with such a showing,” and vowed to pursue all available avenues to ensure a fair and transparent electoral process.
In a statement issued last week, the opposition party said the ECN’s claims that LPM was trying to discredit the institution were “false and misleading”, arguing that the commission had “not displayed any credit worthy of its name.”
LPM’s spokesperson LIfalaza Simataa said the problems stem from the Political Party Candidates Management (PPCM) system, introduced in 2024, which the party claims has been plagued by glitches since its launch.
“As LPM inserted names, the system gave feedback errors claiming voter registration numbers weren’t valid or found on the roll,” the statement read.
According to the party, the system also incorrectly associated some of its members with other political parties. “Even though confirmation was presented that the issue was not on our end, we still opted to find alternative participants to align with the system,” LPM noted.
No help
The party further alleged that ECN staff failed to cooperate during the nomination process. “We came to use the ECN facilities and brought several members to ensure that individuals can be placed on the system, but ECN refused to open more than one computer for the party,” the statement read.
LPM also accused returning officers of rejecting the party’s nomination manuals and insisting it use what it described as a “faulty system".
The part said ECN’s “failure to take accountability” threatens Namibia’s democracy. If ECN were a private entity, we would not trust it to continue with such a showing,” and vowed to pursue all available avenues to ensure a fair and transparent electoral process.
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