We didn’t invite Shaningwa – ECN

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has said it “does not dictate who the president invites to his meetings” after the presence of Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa at a closed-door meeting at State House on Tuesday created a public outcry.

The ECN met with Mbumba on Tuesday to discuss challenges with the ongoing general voter registration. However, to the surprise of many, including electoral commissioners, Shaningwa was also present at the meeting, a situation deemed inappropriate and which led to accusations that ECN’s impartiality was compromised.

In a statement, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) slammed Shaningwa’s presence in the meeting, saying it posed a threat to democracy.

The Presidency on Tuesday fumbled its justification for Shaningwa’s attendance at the closed-door meeting, claiming she was invited in her capacity as a member of parliament and Cabinet.

Political outrage

In a statement on the matter, the IPC said: “There is no constitutional provision for Swapo’s SG to be a member of Cabinet, which seems to be the justification for the inclusion in the presidential delegation... If anyone was entitled to have been included and/or summoned by the ECN, it should have been the line minister in the ministry of urban and rural development.”

The party added: “The recent engagement undermines the principles of fairness and impartiality that the ECN is supposed to uphold. The presence of Shaningwa, a member of parliament and Cabinet, solely by virtue of her party position, further exacerbates concerns about political interference in the electoral process."

The IPC argued that no explanation from the ECN would suffice to justify the “serious violation” of its conduct.

“The IPC calls for all stakeholders committed to democratic processes in Namibia to remain vigilant and ensure that the principles of fairness, transparency and impartiality are upheld evidently and objectively at all times.”

Demand for talks

Affirmative Repositioning leader Job Amupanda accused the electoral body of pretending to be neutral while acting as a corrupt extension of Swapo.

He alleged that ECN officials were "interrogated" and explained themselves to Shaningwa during the meeting, openly displaying that their purported impartiality was a hoax.

Amupanda wrote a letter to ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua, seeking an audience to discuss the matter.

Response to outrage

In a statement issued late yesterday, the ECN appealed to the public to view its meeting for what it was, emphasising its commitment to transparency and democratic values.

“It is worth pointing out that the Office of the President has already addressed the matter of the attendance of the secretary-general in the media. Suffice to state that ECN does not dictate who the president invites to his meetings,” it said.

“What the commission can unequivocally state is that it only discussed matters related to how best to enhance the voter registration rate in the remaining weeks of the voter registration period and how best to adequately resource ECN to enable it to conduct free, fair and credible elections.”

Voter talks

Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Shaningwa said she attended the meeting to convey concerns that she regularly received about the ongoing voter registration process.

“I just went there. You were there, and you heard what I said. I only informed them [ECN] of the issues facing the voters. I defended the voters,” she said.

On the public reaction to her attendance, the Swapo top administrator said: “People are upset, they have always been upset, they will continue to be upset.“

Political analyst Marius Kudumo said he would not agree that this is a threat to the country's democracy, but added that it does not reflect the country's values of inclusion and transparency.

"In a year of elections where there are contestation by different political parties, it is always good to be inclusive. If the meeting was about encouraging voters to register, that is the responsibility of all political parties. What happened has created mistrust, and it is not advisable.”

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