The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has refuted claims by the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) that it is not registering incarcerated individuals.
LPM in a media statement on Monday expressed concern about the exclusion of inmates from the General Registration of Voters (GRV) and called on the ECN to intervene and mitigate the situation.
‘The commission strongly refutes the allegations made by LPM alleging that the commission disallowed convicted Namibians the opportunity to register as voters to participate in the upcoming elections,’ the ECN said in a statement on Tuesday.
The commission said in preparation for the 2024 GRV, it consulted with the correctional facilities management and resolved to establish registration points at correctional facilities, including at police holding cells countrywide in compliance with section 22 (4) of the Electoral Act No. 5 of 2014, as amended.
‘The commission’s version and statement of its position is evidenced by the list of established registration points as
shared with all electoral stakeholders, including registered political parties and organisations/associations, and widely circulated in all platforms including print and electronic media before the commencement of the GRV,’ it said.
It added that most of the correctional facilities and police holding cells have already been covered, while some are still to be visited as per the registration schedule.
‘As part of our targeted interventions aimed at ensuring that all Namibians who are eligible to register as voters are accorded the opportunity, the commission established 20 additional teams during the fourth week of GRV to cover an additional 120 places that were not adequately covered, or where the dates initially allocated were not adequate. Some of the registration points which were revisited through these interventions are correctional facilities,’ it said.
The commission said it values constructive engagement and welcomes suggestions of specific registration points which might have been omitted for cons
ideration and accommodation in the remaining nine days of registration of voters.
‘We urge the electoral stakeholders, particularly the registered political parties, to maintain the established communication channels to bring issues relating to electoral matters to the commission with a view of arriving at practical solutions in the best interest of the voters. In the same vein, the commission cautions all stakeholders against the dissemination of information that is misleading,’ the statement read.
Source: The Namibia News Agency