The Chief Electoral and Referenda Officer of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), Peter Shaama, outlined the schedule of the upcoming Presidential and National Assembly elections due to take place in November. 

Shaama says the calendar adopted by the ECN is aligned with the internationally recognised electoral cycle framework.

The 2024 Electoral Calendar and Democracy Awareness Campaign serve as a roadmap to assist the Commission in planning and executing all electoral-related activities.

The Electoral Calendar outlines key electoral projects and timelines for general voter registration and the Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

"These activities—some of them and the timelines—are statutory that we need to comply with, while others are administrative; however, all the activities are interdependent."

The calendar comprises three pillars, which are the pre-election phase, the election phase, and the post-election phase.

The pre-election phase sets the tone for the level of preparedness and includes stakeholder engagement, enhancement of election management systems, recruitment and training, election result management, political party registration and nomination of candidates, software interface, voter and civic education, and registration of voters locally and abroad.

Shaama describes the second phase as critical. This is the actual election phase where various observers and media accreditation and nomination of independent candidates will commence.

Entity candidates will be nominated while the design and printing of ballot papers and actual voting, as well as the counting of votes, will take place, followed by the eventual announcement of results after verification.

He explains phase three, which is the last. "The EC aimed at reviewing the entire electoral process, from registration to polling, including voter and civic education, and eventually delivering a performance and post-election report. The phase serves as a foundation for the next round of the electoral cycle in the build-up to the next scheduled national elections."