Stakeholders push for ECN overhaul

If it were up to most political parties in Namibia, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) would undergo a complete overhaul to ensure its total independence as well as credible polls.The courts have indicted the ECN on several occasions on its handling of elections and directed it to improve its systems.One such instance was a 2020 challenge brought by Dr Panduleni Itula against the ECN’s decision to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) without a verifiable paper trail in the 2019 presidential polls.Although the court found that the use of paperless EVMs was unconstitutional as it breached the separation of powers doctrine, it refused to nullify the election results, instead directing the ECN to ensure that it incorporates a paper trail component going forward.The fact that the minister of urban and rural development, the speaker of the National Assembly, the prime minister and the sitting president have complete control of the commission in terms of appointments of commissioners also does not sit well with stakeholders.During a recent meeting, political parties and civil society said the ECN should become an independent body and that both the poling and presiding officers should be recruited by an independent body.These proposals are contained in an outcome report following a stakeholder workshop the commission held in September in the capital.AbolishIt was also proposed that presidential nominees be abolished.“The eight nominees should come from opposition parties. That means the constitution and the Electoral Act - which mandate the president to do so - must be amended. These duties should be given to the independent commission to nominate members of parliament from the opposition based on who performed better,” the report read.However, the ECN indicated that these suggestions were not suitable.Furthermore, the commission shot down a proposal that during national elections, it should invite all registered political parties and organisations to select a printing company, which will be agreed by all parties to print the ballot papers.“The procedure regarding the involvement of all political parties and organisation in the ballot paper printing process is provided for in the standard operating procedures of the ECN, which is shared with all stakeholders. The Procurement Act 15 of 2015 furthermore provides for the procedures to be followed when appointing a printing company to print the ballot papers,” it said.Impartiality ‘compromised’Another proposal the commission rejected was that the official political opposition party be allowed to recommend two commissioners to serve as non-voting commissioners alongside its five substantial commissioners.“This proposal cannot be accepted. It will compromise the independence of the commission and political non-partisanship.“The current composition of five commissioners is sufficient as involving political parties will compromise the commission’s impartiality. The question can also be asked as to why only involve opposition parties?”Stakeholders also highlighted that the ECN requires a lot of discretionary power, which some argued could be dangerous. It was proposed that the power of the National Assembly be retained.This proposal was accepted by the ECN, which indicated that without the National Assembly, there will be no accountability.Those in attendance at the meeting opined that a national conference should be called where all registered political parties, organisations and stakeholders would “determine and agree on how to establish a fully independent electoral commission”.The ECN, however, labelled the proposal as unsuitable as the Electoral Act already provides for the appointment of its members.Our prerogativeA contribution was raised that there must be criteria regulating the various categories of permanent and temporary staff members at the ECN, while a guiding policy for the recruitment of staff members must also be formulated.To this, the ECN maintained that it should have the prerogative to decide whether an appointment will be permanent or temporary.“Definitions do not incorporate principles, it only defines expressions,” it said.The commission added that it will have a guiding policy on the recruitment of staff members which will clearly outline these issues.

Stakeholders push for ECN overhaul

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-09-09

Please login to leave a comment

Stakeholders push for ECN overhaul

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-09-09

Please login to leave a comment

Login