Kabbe South: The Kabbe South Constituency polling station at Nakabolelwa experienced a low turnout of voters for the by-elections, which commenced on Tuesday morning. By 08h30, fewer than 50 registered voters had cast their votes, indicating a concerning trend for electoral participation in the area.

According to Namibia Press Agency, poor voter turnout was also reported at other polling stations in the constituency. Zambezi Regional Electoral Officer for the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) in the Zambezi Region, Lesley Simwanza, confirmed the situation, noting the punctuality of the election process but highlighting the low engagement. “Yes, you saw they were on time here at Nakabolelwa, and we are still on point, but the turnout is low this morning,” Simwanza stated.

The Swapo party candidate, Raymond Sezuni, and former Constituency Councillor, John Likando, were among the first to vote at Nakabolelwa. Sezuni encouraged the electorate to participate actively in the voting process, while Likando expressed contentment with the number of polling stations established in the flood-prone constituency.

On Sunday, during the deployment of 127 polling officials from Katima Mulilo to Nakabolelwa, ECN’s Returning Officer for the Kabbe South by-election, Kahimbi Masule, informed Nampa about the composition of the election teams. The deployment included 24 fixed teams comprising five members each, with two police officers providing security. Additionally, seven mobile teams are tasked with covering over 16 villages within the constituency.

The Kabbe South Constituency has a total of 3,509 registered voters expected to elect a new constituency councillor, a position vacated in March by John Likando, who now serves in the National Council. The by-election contest features only two candidates, Swapo’s Raymond Sezuni and the Independent Patriots for Change’s (IPC) Sydney Sitali Shamwazi.