1 500 voters registered with old SWA cards
According to the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), 1 507 individuals who registered to vote during the upcoming national polls used their old South West Africa (SWA) identity cards, despite the government having phased them out in 2018.
A total of 1 465 129 people registered during the General Registration of Voters (GRV) process; this figure was later revised downward to 1 451 444 following the verification exercise, which uncovered 13 685 multiple entries.
The registration process required voters to present the necessary documents, such as the national identification card (including an SWA card) or, at minimum, a birth certificate. In cases where only a birth certificate was presented, a sworn statement with respect to the person’s nationality was also required.
Accordance with the law
More than 1.1 million of those who registered used a national ID with a barcode on it, while 282 588 presented new IDs with a QR code to identify themselves. About 45 180 used their birth certificates along with a sworn statement, while 1 909 used their birth certificates and a driver's licence to prove their identity. Statistics also show that 10 220 used their passports to register.
Questions were raised about how people managed to register with the old SWA IDs if these were phased out by the government in 2018.
ECN yesterday maintained that accepting the old SWA ID cards is in accordance with the electoral law.
Thousands still in use
The commission’s spokesperson, De Wet Siluka, yesterday told Election Nexus: “The 2024 GRV was conducted under the current Electoral Act, No. 5 of 2014, as amended.”
The home affairs ministry had set an initial deadline for 2017, but later extended it to 2018 to give SWA card holders more time to obtain Namibian IDs.
Cabinet at the time had approved the extension of the phasing out of the old SWA identity documents from 31 March 2017 to 31 March 2018.
At the time, media reports indicated that at least 70 000 Namibians were still using what is known as the old SWA ID.
The decision to phase out the SWA ID was prompted by the drive to adapt to international best practices, which advocate for the use of only one type of legal ID within a given national territory.
There were also concerns that many of the old IDs contained incorrect personal details of card holders.
A total of 1 465 129 people registered during the General Registration of Voters (GRV) process; this figure was later revised downward to 1 451 444 following the verification exercise, which uncovered 13 685 multiple entries.
The registration process required voters to present the necessary documents, such as the national identification card (including an SWA card) or, at minimum, a birth certificate. In cases where only a birth certificate was presented, a sworn statement with respect to the person’s nationality was also required.
Accordance with the law
More than 1.1 million of those who registered used a national ID with a barcode on it, while 282 588 presented new IDs with a QR code to identify themselves. About 45 180 used their birth certificates along with a sworn statement, while 1 909 used their birth certificates and a driver's licence to prove their identity. Statistics also show that 10 220 used their passports to register.
Questions were raised about how people managed to register with the old SWA IDs if these were phased out by the government in 2018.
ECN yesterday maintained that accepting the old SWA ID cards is in accordance with the electoral law.
Thousands still in use
The commission’s spokesperson, De Wet Siluka, yesterday told Election Nexus: “The 2024 GRV was conducted under the current Electoral Act, No. 5 of 2014, as amended.”
The home affairs ministry had set an initial deadline for 2017, but later extended it to 2018 to give SWA card holders more time to obtain Namibian IDs.
Cabinet at the time had approved the extension of the phasing out of the old SWA identity documents from 31 March 2017 to 31 March 2018.
At the time, media reports indicated that at least 70 000 Namibians were still using what is known as the old SWA ID.
The decision to phase out the SWA ID was prompted by the drive to adapt to international best practices, which advocate for the use of only one type of legal ID within a given national territory.
There were also concerns that many of the old IDs contained incorrect personal details of card holders.
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