EMBs essential to electoral integrity: Uutoni

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Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, has emphasised Election Management Bodies’ (EMBs) role in promoting and protecting electoral integrity as essential for nurturing and deepening democracy in SADC.

Uutoni, who was speaking at the 24th Annual General Conference of the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries (ECF-SADC) in Swakopmund on Tuesday, said electoral integrity is central to the credibility of electoral processes and the legitimacy of election outcomes.

“Elections have been known to either strengthen or undermine democracy, human rights, security and development, depending on their credibility and integrity.

The vision for inclusive democracy and electoral accountability is one that shifts power from political and economic elites to citizens, particularly women and young people,” he noted.

Uutoni further stated that electoral integrity should also thrive on among others the professionalism and independence of the EMBs, the rule of law and electoral justice and the regulation of political finance, adding that when these are absent, the very essence of elections allowing citizens to participate and advance their interests in political processes, is hindered.

The minister therefore implored EMBs to strengthen mechanisms for regular and consultative multi-stakeholder engagement throughout the electoral cycle between them, political parties and civil society organisations, among others in order to promote a more participatory electoral process.

The three-day conference is taking place under the theme “Stakeholder Engagement and Accountability to promote public trust in Electoral Processes in the SADC region”.

ECF-SADC President and Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission of Botswana, Justice Barnabas Nyamadzabo, said the event will provide the electoral commissions with a platform to share experiences on the challenges faced by the commissions, as well as share practices that will deal with these challenges.

“EMBs in SADC have faced a number of challenges, one of which is management of electoral stakeholder influence processes, acquiring stakeholders as well as having to manage relationships with those stakeholders,” Nyamadzabo noted.

The conference also aims to strengthen the ECF-SADC mandate of promoting peer learning and cooperation amongst member commissions.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency