Namibia faces election chaos as voting extended after ‘irregularities’
Al Jazeera
Opposition seeking to upend decades of governing Swapo dominance urges voters to stay the course and cast ballots.
Tensions are mounting in Namibia after a controversial extension of presidential and parliamentary elections into the weekend owing to “irregularities” that slowed down voting.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) announced on Friday that polling stations that should have closed two days earlier, would remain open until Saturday night, admitting to “logistical” failures, including a shortage of ballot papers and overheating electronic tablets used to register voters, which left them standing in queues for hours.
The opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party, which hopes to end 34 years of rule by the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo), protested against the new extension but urged voters to cast their ballots.
“Regrettably, there has been a multitude of irregularities,” said IPC presidential candidate Panduleni Itula. But, he added, there was “no other alternative than for the citizens to carry out what is proposed by the [ECN] to its conclusion”.
He is standing against Swapo’s Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, currently the vice president, who would become the mineral-rich country’s first female leader if she wins.
