The candidates and some presiding officers of the Moses //Garoeb Constituency by-election, which got off to a slow start on Friday, have blamed the holidays for the low turnout.

Speaking to Nampa at the polling station at Moses //Garoeb Primary School, Independent Patriots for Change candidate Moses Mwandingi said while he was expecting victory, the margins will be very low because some voters might still be on holiday, while others are still making their way to Windhoek.

His views were shared by Ester Shapi, the presiding officer of the same polling station, who said by 10h00, 50 people had cast their vote at the station.

“We expect over 150 people to cast their votes here today. We have not encountered any problems. Everything is going accordingly. The inflow of people is fine so far,” she said.

Paulus Shinime Nakale, the candidate for the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters, said he was one of the first people to vote at Ehambo ya Nehale polling station, where there were more than 70 people in the queue.

“I have been moving around, observing the flow of voters at different polling stations, and the numbers are low. I think voting is slow because of the holiday as schools and offices are only opening next week,” he said.

The presiding officer at the Havana Number One Open Space Polling Station, Vanessa Shiwedha, said by 09h30 42 people had voted and they were expecting more to come during the day.

Swapo candidate Stefanus Ndengu said he voted at Namibia Nalitungwe Hall, where there were very few people.

“People are still on holiday and those who are in Windhoek are at work, which is why we have such a low voter turnout,” he told Nampa.

Efforts to get comments from the two independent candidates, Moses Hengobe and Ndalifilwa Hashoongo, proved futile as their phones went unanswered.

The by-election was necessitated by the death of Constituency Councillor, Aili Venonya, in October 2022.

The returning officer for the constituency by-elections, Rakondjerua Kavari, also confirmed that the start has been very slow, but they were looking forward to a surge in numbers in the late afternoon and early evening.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency