The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has responded to claims regarding the deregistration of political parties.
In a midnight media statement, the ECN announced that the Democratic Party of Namibia, DPN, has joined the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters, NEFF, and the Christian Democratic Voice, CDV, as a deregistered party.
The Commission states that it deregistered the three parties in accordance with sections 152 and 153 of the Electoral Act. Their names have been removed from the Commission's Political Parties and Organizations/Associations' Register. The ECN explains that the deregistration follows a careful assessment of compliance with sections 140 and 158 of the Electoral Act, which revealed that the parties were not in compliance, thereby constituting a violation of the Act.
The Commission emphasizes that it made efforts to raise awareness of compliance obligations and requirements among political parties. It highlighted the relevant provisions that necessitate compliance and the consequences of non-compliance.
The provisions in question are section 140, which pertains to record-keeping and conducting audits of registered political parties, and section 158, which requires political parties represented in Parliament to account for allocated funds.
The ECN notes that these engagements with political parties date back to 2019 when the Commission published Regulations simplifying the application of section 139, which deals with the declaration of assets and liabilities of registered political parties and organizations/associations, and section 141, which concerns the disclosure of foreign and domestic financing of political parties, organizations, or other individuals.
Despite the Commission's engagement efforts, political parties and organizations failed to submit the requested information, disregarding subsequent reminders.
In addition to general engagements dating back to November 2020 and a September 2022 workshop aimed at reinforcing compliance understanding, the ECN conducted individual engagements with affected political parties in June 2023. As a result, the Commission granted a five-month extension, allowing political parties to comply by November 30, 2023.
The ECN reports that some political parties demonstrated substantial compliance, while others continued to be non-compliant.
Regarding NEFF and CDV, the Commission issued a final deadline of April 25, 2024, for the submission of all outstanding financial reports. A 14-day extension was granted, which expired on May 10, 2024, for parties to submit the outstanding documents or face deregistration.
As for the DPN, the ECN states that they received no response to correspondence addressed to the party's authorized representative.
The ECN clarifies that no extension was granted for the compliance deadline of May 10, 2024, regarding the submission of the 2022/2023 audited financial statements and the abridged newspaper publications.
According to Section 158 of the Act, all political parties represented in Parliament must submit their audited financial statements within three months after the end of their financial year.
Thus, the Commission reminded ALL political parties represented in Parliament, including NEFF whose financial year ends in March, to submit their audited financial statements for the 2023/2024 financial year by June 30, 2024.
The ECN emphasizes that the June 30, 2024 deadline is unrelated to the records that were supposed to be submitted by May 10, 2024.