Keetmanshoop: Keetmanshoop residents on Wednesday turned up in numbers to cast their votes in the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections. Simon Basson was the first to cast his vote at the WK Rover community hall polling station at 07h07. He expressed excitement that he was able to exercise his democratic right in an interview with Nampa.According to Namibia Press Agency, Basson, aged 57, shared his enthusiasm about participating in the electoral process, urging young people to follow suit. "I feel very happy that I am done and I was able to do this important exercise. I urge young people especially to come out and vote. As you can see, there are a lot of elderly people in the queue," Basson stated. He had arrived at the polling station as early as 03h30 to secure his position among the first voters.The WK Rover community hall polling station opened its doors promptly at 07h00. Ansa April, the presiding officer at the station, noted the smooth progress of the voting process. "Everything is goin g well so far, there have been no hiccups whatsoever. As you can see there are a lot of elderly people in the queue," April commented.Among the early voters was nineteen-year-old Selma Alwendo, who was enthusiastic about casting her vote for the first time. Arriving at the station around 04h00, Alwendo, a political science student, expressed her determination to influence her future through voting. "I am excited to be here, to do this for the first time to change my future. Yes, there are not many young people, but it is because over the years with political parties not fulfilling their promises, young people have withdrawn from politics," she explained.While elderly voters were prominent at the WK Rover community hall polling station, other polling stations in Keetmanshoop witnessed a rising number of young voters queuing before 05h30. The Keetmanshoop Urban Constituency has a total of 12 polling stations, all of which opened at 07h00 and are scheduled to close at 21h00.