Outapi: Governor of the Omusati Region, Immanuel Shikongo was the first voter to cast his vote at the Outapi Community Hall on Wednesday morning, marking the official start of voting in the seventh Regional Councils and Local Authorities elections. Shikongo voted just minutes after the official start of voting at 07h00, with a long queue already winding at one of the main voting points in the Omusati regional capital.
According to Namibia Press Agency, after casting his ballot, the governor urged all eligible voters across Omusati to turn out in large numbers, emphasising the importance of local and regional elections in shaping development at the grassroots level. Shikongo reminded voters why taking part in the regional councils and local authorities' elections is important and noted that the regional leadership plays a decisive role in determining the future of the region.
Shikongo stated, 'They will now decide on the fate of the development of the region. Hence, it is very, very important that we vote for regional councillors, because it is mandatory that we have a regional councillor in every constituency,' adding that the 12 regional councillors will collectively decide developmental matters in the region. 'In this particular case, it is a must,' he added.
The governor encouraged every registered voter in Omusati to show up at polling stations, highlighting the significance of voting for regional councillors who will discuss key issues such as water, sanitation, clinics, schools, and other developmental matters. He also called on residents of Outapi, Raucana, Oshikuku, Okahao, as well as the Tsandi and Onandjamba village councils to take part in the local authority elections.
Shikongo explained, 'And then in the same elections, those of you who are residing in local authorities, we are also mandated by the electoral law to vote for our local authority councillors. In the local authority, there will be seven local authority councillors, or in the case of a village council, you have five local authority councillors. But then these five local authority councillors will also play a very crucial role, exactly like the regional councillors do.'
Meanwhile, the presiding officer at the Outapi Community Hall, Simson Paulus, reported that voting began smoothly and on time. He said the polling station is one of the busiest in the Outapi Constituency. 'Everything is going well, as you can see behind me, the turnout is very, very good,' he said, encouraging all eligible voters to bring their valid voter cards and make their way to any polling station within the constituency.