Politicians to vet voters' register
Provided that there are no objections, over 1.45 million voters - the highest since the dawn of independence in Namibia - will be eligible to cast their votes in the elections slated for 27 November.
The provisional voters’ register, which was released by the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN) in Windhoek, will be available for public scrutiny until 30 September. The 20 registered political parties were handed the electronic register yesterday.
The release of the provisional list is meant to enable political parties to vet the register, and - where the need arises - challenge the eligibility of questionable voters on the register.
For the first time in the commission’s history, statistics regarding people with disabilities were also segregated, which indicated that 21 785 people with disabilities registered to vote. These include those who are blind, deaf, physically disabled as well as those with artificial limbs.
The regional breakdown indicated that Khomas remains the biggest voting bloc in terms of numbers, followed by Omusati, Erongo and Ohangwena.
The highlight of the provisional roll is the increase in the rate of representation of persons in the over-35 age cohort. This age band accounts for 56% of the 1 451 444 voters on the provisional voters’ roll. Those between 18 and 34 account for 44% of the total number of people on the provisional register.
Double registration, double voting
International relations ministry executive director Penda Naanda, who also attended yesterday’s proceedings, questioned the absence of statistics for those who registered at the 35 diplomatic missions around the world.
Responding to this, ECN chief electoral and referanda officer Peter Shaama said "they are part and parcel of the main voters' register".
ECN also announced that they detected about 13 685 multiple entries, which have since been removed from the provisional register.
Asked whether those who are guilty of registering twice will face any punishment, ECN’s head of operations Zenia Klaasen said: “The law does not make provision for double registration, only for double voting".
Among the reason for the multiple entries, Klaasen listed displeasure with pictures taken and wrongly captured personal information.
“There are many security layers built into the tablets. The moment the tablet is connected to a network, the data will be uploaded to the central server where it will then be detected if someone voted twice,” she explained when asked about double voting.
The provisional voters’ register, which was released by the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN) in Windhoek, will be available for public scrutiny until 30 September. The 20 registered political parties were handed the electronic register yesterday.
The release of the provisional list is meant to enable political parties to vet the register, and - where the need arises - challenge the eligibility of questionable voters on the register.
For the first time in the commission’s history, statistics regarding people with disabilities were also segregated, which indicated that 21 785 people with disabilities registered to vote. These include those who are blind, deaf, physically disabled as well as those with artificial limbs.
The regional breakdown indicated that Khomas remains the biggest voting bloc in terms of numbers, followed by Omusati, Erongo and Ohangwena.
The highlight of the provisional roll is the increase in the rate of representation of persons in the over-35 age cohort. This age band accounts for 56% of the 1 451 444 voters on the provisional voters’ roll. Those between 18 and 34 account for 44% of the total number of people on the provisional register.
Double registration, double voting
International relations ministry executive director Penda Naanda, who also attended yesterday’s proceedings, questioned the absence of statistics for those who registered at the 35 diplomatic missions around the world.
Responding to this, ECN chief electoral and referanda officer Peter Shaama said "they are part and parcel of the main voters' register".
ECN also announced that they detected about 13 685 multiple entries, which have since been removed from the provisional register.
Asked whether those who are guilty of registering twice will face any punishment, ECN’s head of operations Zenia Klaasen said: “The law does not make provision for double registration, only for double voting".
Among the reason for the multiple entries, Klaasen listed displeasure with pictures taken and wrongly captured personal information.
“There are many security layers built into the tablets. The moment the tablet is connected to a network, the data will be uploaded to the central server where it will then be detected if someone voted twice,” she explained when asked about double voting.
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Namibian Sun
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