Voter Registration
Nobody can vote in any election in Namibia without producing his or her own official ECN voter registration card, valid for that specific election and issued by the Electoral Commission of Namibia alone. The Electoral Act of Namibia makes provision for three types of voter registration, i.e.
General Voter Registration, which has to take place “at intervals of not more than10 years” (Section 15). The last general voters’ registration was in 2003.
Supplementary Voter Registration, whichtakes place during a limited period before any proclaimed election or by-election (Section 28).
Continuous Voter Registration for which the Act provides detailed stipulations (Section 28A).
For Presidential, National Assembly and Regional Council elections an applicant is required to register as voter in the constituency in which he/she is resident and for Local Authority elections in the local authority area in which he/she has resided for more than 12 consecutive months, subject to Article 111(3) of the Namibian Constitution
Voter registration and voting processes are voluntary. However, employers and persons in charge of or accommodating any registered voter are compelled by law to enable such voter to cast his/her vote in any election for which that voter is registered (Section 20 of the Electoral Amendment Act, Act 7of 2009).
Requirements for Registration as a voter
An applicant aspiring to be registered as voters must:
- be a Namibian citizen,
- be 18 years of age;
- be able to identify him/herself;
- must provide proof of having been resident in the Local Authority Area (where they apply to be registered as voter and produce copies of their municipal or telephone accounts) for 12 consecutive months or longer [applicable to Local Authority elections only]. Article 111 (3) of the Namibian Constitution refers.
Applicants must present proof of identity, age and Namibian citizenship at the registration venue. This can be done by either
- producing the official and legally recognized national documents, i.e. Namibian ID card, Namibian passport, or a combination of Namibian birth certificate, Namibian citizenship certificate, Namibian driver’s licence. OR
- in the absence of these documents, statements under oath or affirmation by two other persons who know the applicant (deponents) are provided for under Section 16(4) of the Electoral Act. This subsection has been further relaxed by Section 5(b) of the Electoral Amendment Act, Act 7 of 2009.
After having complied with all requirements the applicant is then provided with the official ECN voter registration card.
VOTERS’ REGISTERS
The Electoral Act (Section 21) requires the Commission to compile and maintain two voters’ registers:
- a National Voters’ Register (constituency-based) and
- a Local Authority Voters’ Register (based on the different local authority areas).
Electronic Voters’ Register and Manual Voters’ Register
Initially the ECN used a manual paper based voters’ register at all polling stations during the voting process. An electronic voters’ registerwas introducedin the 2004 national and local authorities elections, which is now used at all polling stations with access to electricity.
At mobile polling stations and polling stations without electricity, the paper based voters’ register is the only option.
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Electronic Voting Machine
The ECN have acquired the Electronic Voting Machine for fast, Reliable, Free, and Fair Elections.
