Academic Dr. Michael Tjivikua has been disqualified from the race for the position of Chief Electoral and Referenda Officer of the Electoral Commission of Namibia.

This was after it was found that Dr. Tjivikua was a member of the Swapo Party Think Tank, information he failed to disclose.

The ECN conducted public interviews and presentations for the five shortlisted candidates for the position.

Dr. Tjivikua, who was an executive at the Namibia Institute for Public Administration, served in the Swapo Party's Think Tank in 2021.

Although he is no longer a member, Dr. Tjivikua failed to disclose this information to the ECN as required, even after he was shortlisted.

Lawmaker Elma Dienda initially wrote to ECN, objecting to Dr. Tjivikua's shortlisting and stating that his political affiliation raises doubt among Namibians about the fairness and impartiality of the country's electoral process.

Dienda argued that the position of Chief Electoral and Referenda Officer should be held by an individual whose impartiality is beyond question.

The ECN last week defended the shortlisting of Tjivikua but conceded this time that his failure to disclose information as a former member of the ruling party's think tank was unacceptable.

There were no objections to the shortlisting of the other candidates, Oscar Muyatwa, Helmuth Naweseb, Dr. Vincent Sazita, and Petrus Shaamba.