Should everything go according to the Electoral Commission of Namibia's plans, residents of the Moses ||Garoeb constituency in Windhoek will have a newly elected regional councillor by this Friday.

The constituency has been without a regional councillor for two months, after the death of Swapo's Aili Venonya, who died in October last year.

The Regional Council Act dictates that the position of a councillor be filled within three months after it becomes vacant.

In this light, after Venonya's death in October, the ECN announced the date of the by-election, and the date was set for January 6.

The Moses ||Garoeb constituents, most of whom reside in shacks, face many developmental challenges, and with the city councillors expected to resume duty on January 17, they too remain without a political head.

The absence of a political head at the council begs the question of who will listen to the long-coming cries of the over 45,000 residents of Moses ||Garoeb—could the answer be the new councilor?

Two constituency residents told nbc News that while development in the area is slow, it will not deter them from voting in the election on Friday.

In its five-year strategic plan, the ECN states that while citizen participation and engagement in Presidential and National Assembly elections have been relatively high over the last three decades, the trend for Regional Council and Local Authority Elections shows that voter turnout has declined significantly.