7,199 eligible voters cast their votes locally in the special voting process for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections by 15:00, while 586 Namibians voted at foreign missions.
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia, Elsie Nghikembua, described this as a good turnout.
|Khomas had the highest turnout of over 1000, followed by Walvis Bay Rural Constituency with 429, Outapi with 410, Walvis Urban with 403, Ondangwa Urban with 366, Oshakati East with 318, and Keetmanshoop with 364.
"The turnout we witnessed today is a testament to the fact that we are on course to deliver a credible election on the 27th of November 2024."
Dr. Nghikembua said despite planning on the expected number of the security cluster, more voters turned out than expected in some areas.
"We received a specific number from the security cluster that these are the numbers of people that are going to be on duty on the 27th, and those are the numbers of the people that we planned for, but this morning a lot more turned out. But if they had changed that and allowed everybody to come and vote, they did not communicate with us. So that is the reason because, from the side of ECN, that one polling station was enough to cater for everybody. But nevertheless, the process is going on smoothly, and we can attend to everybody."
Another challenge the ECN experienced was uniformed personnel who were not designated for special voting and ordinary citizens who also wanted to vote.
"These include City Police and citizens planning to travel out of the country on November 27, 2024. As explained, the Electoral Act defines the specific categories of voters who are eligible for special voting. Anyone else not falling in this category will vote on November 27, 2024. You might ask is a security cluster, but they are not specified in the Act, which means that there is a need to look at that section for possible amendments."
She reported that the polling stations in all 35 missions outside and 33 locals opened at 07:00 as scheduled.
"Everyone who will be in the queue by 21:00 will not be sent back but will be allowed to vote. However, anyone who presents themselves after 21:00 hours will not be allowed to vote because they have come at a time when polling stations have technically closed. I therefore encourage everyone to go in good time for voting. So basically, even if we have 5,000 people in the queue by 21:00, all of them will be attended to but a minute after 21:00 we will have to turn you away."