WINDHOEK: The special voting exercise started off well on Wednesday morning according to presiding officers from various polling stations across the country. Members of the Namibian Defence Force, the police and correctional service, as well as seagoing personnel are casting their votes ahead of the Presidential and National Assembly elections on 27 November. The special voting also includes Namibians living in the diaspora, who are voting at the country’s diplomatic missions abroad.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the presiding officer at Khorixas polling station, Timotheus !Aibeb, reported that the voting process at the Khorixas Police Station began smoothly. The process opened on time at 07h00 with about 86 votes being cast. !Aibeb also encouraged members of the security cluster in neighboring areas like Kamanjab, Sesfontein, and Outjo to visit the station to cast their votes.
The voting process at the Rundu town hall in the Kavango East also commenced well. Returning officer Sunya Neumbo noted that s
everal officers were already in line when they opened. “The officers showed up in large numbers, and so far, everything is going well,” Neumbo stated.
In Kavango West, at the Nkurenkuru community hall, returning officer Kawana Pankratus reported an initially low turnout with only about 30 voters recorded in the first hour, although the number increased thereafter. Electoral Commission of Namibia Commissioner Gerson Sindano from Kavango East expressed his satisfaction with the turnout, stating, “People have shown up in large numbers and it seems like people understand democracy. I hope we do not get overwhelmed, and we will do the best we possibly can to attend to all of them.”
The presiding officer at the Oshakati Police Station in the Oshana Region, Jessy Auala, confirmed a large turnout. “So far, the process is going very well. The qualifying voters have queued up. We started at 07h00 in the morning and are going until 21h00. The first voter arrived here around 05h30 in the morning and so far everything i
s going well,” Auala explained.