Political parties contesting the upcoming Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency by-election have expressed dissatisfaction after the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) issued a media statement announcing the issuance of duplicate voter cards for residents on the eve of the elections.

In a media statement, ECN announced that the issuance of duplicate voter cards to registered voters is in accordance with Section 35 of Electoral Act No. 5 of 2014.

Political party representatives from the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), and the Landless People's Movement (LPM), however, argued that the announcement's timing was unacceptable.

The Swapo Coordinator in the ||Kharas Region, Mathews Mumbala, on the other hand, argued that people who have lost their documents cannot be denied their democratic rights.

Political party representatives have been in meetings with the ECN for hours since this morning to find a solution to the standoff.

Residents of Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency will go to the polls tomorrow.