Day: July 22, 2024

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) announced on Monday that a total of 1.1 million eligible Namibians have registered as voters within the country and at all diplomatic missions abroad.

The commission in a media statement said about 1 153 916 eligible voters have registered and represent those registered between 03 June and 20 July 2024.

It said voters registered between 15 and 20 July 2024 stand at 164 535 voters, representing an average of 27 404 registered voters per day, adding that this shows is a slight decline compared to the turnout of the previous week of 08-13 July.

ECN said that at least eight out of the 14 regions have achieved a 70 per cent and above voters’ turnout by 20 July 2024, noting that the commission remains optimistic that the remaining six regions will continue to improve on voter turnout during the remaining days of voter registration.

The regions that have achieved 70 per cent registration and above are Ohangwena, Omusati and Oshana – all with 80 per cent turnout. Kunene r
egistered 75 per cent of eligible voters, Erongo 72 per cent, Oshikoto 71 per cent, while ||Kharas and Kavango West stand at 70 per cent.

ECN said as the General Registration of Voters (GRV) period nears its end, Namibians are reminded that there is no window opportunity for extending the period of registration due to statutory limitations within which the commission is required to finalise remaining key electoral activities in preparation for the polling process.

‘These include amongst others, finalisation and production of the provisional voters register for display, inspection and objection, the ruling by the Electoral Tribunal and Electoral Court, nomination of candidates and design and printing of ballot papers; and these are executed in accordance with the provisions of the law,’ said the statement.

The GRV continues across the country and at all Namibian diplomatic missions abroad until 01 August 2024, Monday to Saturday from 08h00 to 19h00.

Namibians will return to the polls on 27 November to cast
their votes in the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

The parents of learners at Mina Sachs Primary School in Keetmanshoop on Monday locked the gates to the school, denying the new principal, teachers and learners entry.

For two hours everything came to a standstill while teachers and learners were locked outside the school.

One of the parents, Johannes Witbooi, told Nampa they decided to close the gates because the Directorate of Education failed to respond to a petition submitted to it in April this year.

The parents in the petition demanded the reversal of the appointment of the new principal, Wilika Mutota, as they believed there were irregularities in the recruitment process as the appointment was allegedly not recommended by the school board. They also requested the directorate to consider appointing a principal who is fluent in Khoekhoegowab and not Oshiwambo as the learners attending the school are from a predominantly Khoekhoegowab-speaking community.

‘They should have responded to our petition before they allowed her to start working,’ Witbooi said
.

Approached for comment, ||Kharas Region Director of Education, Arts and Culture, Jesmine Magerman said the decision for Mutota to assume her duties was taken by the minister as the ministry found no irregularities in her recruitment as indicated by parents.

‘We got feedback from the office of the minister and along with the executive director and the school board we held a meeting on Thursday. We informed the school board of the outcome. The minister said she looked at all the documents presented to her and there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that the majority of the school board opposed the appointment. She specifically gave me instructions that the principal should start work,’ she said.

Magerman further said ‘the language issue is not a problem.’

‘The principal can understand and speak the language that is dominantly spoken in this area, which is Afrikaans. If parents or grandparents want to express themselves in their native language, other teachers at the school can translate,’ she
said.

She stated that if the community are not in agreement with the directorate’s decision, they can approach the Public Service Commission.

‘The commission will then look into the matter and if they are also not happy with the commission’s decision, they can seek legal advice where they can take us to court. These are all avenues that they can use to address this issue,’ Magerman added.

She also said the education directorate will engage the concerned parents.

Source: The Namibia News Agency