Windhoek: Former Katutura Central Constituency Councillor and current regional council candidate, Rodman Katjaimo, has expressed concern over the low voter turnout in his constituency on Wednesday, warning that the figures point to inadequate civic education.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Katjaimo, in a telephonic interview, highlighted that despite having over 17,000 registered voters in Katutura Central, he fears the turnout would not exceed 5,000 by the end of the day. He stated, "People who registered are more than 17,000, but I am telling you that those who will vote today will not be more than 5,000."

Katjaimo attributed the low turnout to limited voter education and reduced mobilisation efforts by both political parties and the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN). He remarked, "Even the political parties, the money they put into this election compared to the last one is not the same. The awareness was not enough," adding that the ECN's visibility this year had been noticeably low in his opinion.

He further argued that a lack of understanding about the role of local and regional leaders had contributed to the poor participation. "Some people feel they deal directly with the government. They think councillors are not that important and that's a wrong perception. We need to educate people on the importance of this election," he said.

Katjaimo also noted that although many young people register to vote, they do not always take the process seriously. As a long-term solution, he proposed electoral reform that would allow regional councils and local authorities elections to be held simultaneously with national elections. "If they can make a provision now, they can table a bill in Parliament to change the Act so that our election will run simultaneously with the national election, it's going to be better," he suggested.

With polls scheduled to close at 21h00, Katjaimo urged eligible voters to use the remaining hours to cast their ballots. "This day is not reserved for enjoyment. It's a day for citizens to be responsible and go out and vote," he emphasized.