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The Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) has vowed to disrupt the upcoming National Assembly and Presidential elections if the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) does not heed its demands concerning a contentious tender awarded to the South African company Ren-Form for printing and distributing ballot papers.

"The Namibian people must rise up and reject this betrayal of our democracy," stated Kalimbo Iipumbu of NEFF.

The party alleges that Ren-Form, a family-owned business based in Johannesburg, is connected to Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivhayo, who has been implicated in various corruption scandals. These include allegations of inflating election material prices by over 200% during Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections. Chivhayo, known for his strong ties to ZANU-PF, is also accused of involvement in gold smuggling, as revealed in Al Jazeera’s "Gold Mafia" documentary.

NEFF expressed outrage at the ECN's decision to abandon a transparent bidding process in favour of emergency procurement, which occurred following a visit from Zimbabwe’s electoral commissioner, Priscilla Chigumba. The party claims this move indicates a coordinated effort among SWAPO, ZANU-PF, and Ren-Form to undermine Namibia’s electoral integrity.

NEFF is demanding the immediate cancellation of the Ren-Form tender, a postponement of the elections, and complete transparency from the ECN.

If these demands are not met, NEFF has warned of national protests that could significantly disrupt the electoral process, jeopardizing the integrity of Namibia’s democracy.

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Author
Daniel Nadunya