Political parties contesting the upcoming Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency by-election have expressed dissatisfaction after the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) issued a media statement announcing the issuance of duplicate voter cards for residents on the eve of the elections.

In a media statement, ECN announced that the issuance of duplicate voter cards to registered voters is in accordance with Section 35 of Electoral Act No. 5 of 2014.

Members of the Landless Peoples' Movement (LPM) stormed into the Keetmanshoop Police Station last night after one of their members alerted them that the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) officials were allegedly offloading sensitive election material without the presence of party officials.

They claimed the move was compromising the fair outcome of the Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency election scheduled for Monday.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia will conduct surveys to determine factors that contribute to voter apathy and low voter turnout in electoral processes. 

This was highlighted during the motivation of the budgetary allocation of the Electoral Commission of Namibia.

In his motivation, the National Assembly Speaker Professor Peter Katjavivi said voter apathy and low voter turnout have been eminently evident during the period of 1998 - 2020 in respect of the Regional Council and Local Authority elections, by-elections as well as national elections.

Okaku Constituency residents will go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new councilor of their choice to fill the vacant post left by the late Gerson Hanu Kapenda, who died last year.

The nbc News team took to the streets of Okaku to gauge the voter's expectations.

The youth we spoke to said they were voting for job opportunities to be availed in the constituency.

They said gone are the days when they put regional councilors in office who later turned a blind eye to the electorates.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has completed the training of polling officials, police officers, and election agents at Ondangwa in preparation for the Okaku by-election in Oshana Region.

All election agents and police officers have already undergone training with the polling officials, which ended on Wednesday.

Preparations are in full swing for the Okaku Constituency by-election on the 17th of next month.

Supplementary registration of voters has been completed, and the final voter register was published this month.

There are now 10,920 registered voters.

A voter education campaign as well as the nomination of party candidates have also concluded.

A new political party, "Body of Christ," has registered with the Electoral Commission of Namibia.

The party's leader, Bishop Festus Thomas, says his movement is about respecting and upholding biblical principles while also focusing on the family unit and traditional Namibian and African values.

Even though the Body of Christ was established five years ago in Ondangwa, the party was only now registering because it had to meet the requirements of the electoral act.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has also announced that the by-election for the Okaku Constituency in the Oshana Region is slated to take place on the 17th of March.

This follows the death of Councillor Hannu Kapenda on December 19 of last year.

Kapenda was the councillor for the Okaku Constituency since 2015 and also held positions such as chairperson of the Oshana Regional Council and of the management committee.

Residents of the Moses ||Garoëb Constituency will go to the polls on 6 January next year to elect a new regional councillor.

The by-election became necessary following the death of the constituency's councillor, Aili Venonya, earlier this month. 

The supplementary registration of voters will be conducted from 31 October to 2 November.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), has already started preparing for the upcoming general elections.

Namibians will go to the polls in 2024 to elect a President and members of the National Assembly. 

The ECN on Thursday began engaging with stakeholders on the draft Electoral Amendment Bill, sending a request for stakeholders to dissect the proposed amendments and submit their inputs.