Windhoek: Inspector General of the Namibian Police Force (NamPol), Joseph Shikongo, was among those who cast their votes at Van Rhyn Primary School in Windhoek on Wednesday as part of the special voting for the National Assembly and Presidential Elections. Speaking to Nampa shortly after voting, Shikongo expressed delight about the excellent turnout by the members of the security cluster. ‘The turnout is excellent. You can see the security cluster as actually the queue is up to the gate. I am excited that Namibians are coming out in big numbers and I think the security cluster is showing a good example of how Namibians are expected to come out on 27 November,’ he said, referencing the ordinary election slated for later this month.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the special voting started across Namibia and at the diplomatic missions abroad on Wednesday morning, and is designed to accommodate those who will be on official duty on 27 November, seagoing personnel, as well as Namibians in the diaspora. The E
lectoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) reported that polling stations across the 14 regions opened at 07h00 and will close at 21h00.
ECN Chairperson, Elsie Nghikembua, on Monday told the media that 33 polling stations had been established across the country to enable the special voting process in accordance with the law. ‘The places in which these categories of voters are mostly located and voter density were among the factors considered by the commission,’ she said.
Namibia will hold Presidential and National Assembly elections in which 21 political parties are contesting 96 parliamentary seats, with 15 also fielding presidential candidates. Over 1.4 million Namibians have registered to vote. ECN has said that it has deployed over 8,000 ballot papers for the special voting process.
Source: Namibia Press Agency