Windhoek: The Chief of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), Air Marshal Martin Pinehas, has raised concerns about the limited number of polling stations designated for special voting by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN). Pinehas, who participated in the voting process at one of only two polling stations in Windhoek, highlighted the challenges posed by the large number of uniformed personnel needing to vote.
According to Namibia Press Agency, Pinehas emphasized the necessity for more polling stations to accommodate the significant number of uniformed individuals. He stated, “What should happen is that we need to have separate polling stations, because we have a big number of uniformed people here at one polling station and that makes it very difficult.” The two polling stations at Van Rhyn Primary School in Windhoek witnessed long queues of police officers, military officers, and correctional service officers.
The ECN is facilitating special voting for the Presidential and National Assembly elections fo
r members of the security cluster and seagoing personnel scheduled for duty on the official voting day, 27 November 2024. This special voting process is also available at Namibia’s diplomatic missions abroad. ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka acknowledged that the electoral body had not anticipated such a large turnout. Siluka explained, “We established the polling stations in consideration of the number of the officers that were indicated to vote on the day, so based on that we only established these two polling stations.”
Despite the unanticipated turnout, Siluka assured that all voters present would be accommodated, saying, “More people turned up, which is a good thing, but we will still accommodate them, as long as you’re in the queue by 21h00.” Colonel Peter Shilumbu, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs, stated that 1,829 members were expected to vote in Windhoek. “Only those who will be on duty come 27 November are voting today, the rest will join the public then,” Shilumbu explai
ned.
Source: Namibia Press Agency
