Namibia makes history as it holds Africa’s first e-vote

Namibians queue outside a polling station to vote in a General Election in Windhoek on November 28, 2014. The election was billed as Africa’s first e-vote. PHOTO | JORDAANIA ANDIMA |

What you need to know:

  • The ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) was forged from the embers of the anti-colonial and anti-apartheid struggle and has won every election in the 24 years since Namibia’s independence.
  • Opposition parties had launched an 11th-hour court challenge to stop the vote from going ahead, saying the use of Indian-made e-voting machines could facilitate vote rigging.

WINDHOEK

Namibians voted Friday in a General Election billed as Africa’s first e-vote, with the ruling party expected to retain power in the country it has run since independence.

Polling nationwide began at 0500 GMT across the country, with voters standing in long lines before daybreak.

They included some first-time “born free” voters — those born after Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990.

“It’s a rich country with poor people, so I hope there is more balance,” said 43-year-old Elias while waiting to cast his vote.

The ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) was forged from the embers of the anti-colonial and anti-apartheid struggle and has won every election in the 24 years since Namibia’s independence.

Ahead of election day, foreign minister and senior Swapo party official Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told AFP that victory was inevitable this time around as well.

“Swapo is going to win. There is no ‘if’, Swapo is going to win,” she said.

ELECTRONIC VOTING
Around 1.2 million Namibians were eligible to cast their ballots at nearly 4,000 electronic voting places across the vast desert nation.

Other African nations, including Kenya, have run pilot or limited e-voting, but none have done so on this scale.

Voting began slowly Friday as presiding officers rolled out the new electronic voting system.

With each vote, the chunky green and white machines emitted a loud “beep!”

“The younger people get it first time, but the older ones you have to explain a little,” said presiding officer Hertha Erastus.

At other stations, independent observers noted significant delays and long queues when the machines malfunctioned.

Namibians will choose 96 members of the national assembly and one of the nine presidential candidates.

Current Prime Minister Hage Geingob, the man almost certain to be named the next president when the final tally is in, cast his vote in the Windhoek township of Katutura.

“We have plans already, we are not a new party. We have plans that we are going to implement,” said Geingob after casting his vote.

“The second phase is that of economic emancipation,” he added.

VOTE RIGGING
Opposition parties had launched an 11th-hour court challenge to stop the vote from going ahead, saying the use of Indian-made e-voting machines could facilitate vote rigging.

But the Windhoek High Court dismissed the application on Wednesday.

Swapo remains by far the biggest party in the country, but has seen increased criticism of the slow pace of land reform as well as allegations of government corruption.

Former Swapo member Hidipo Hamutenya left the party to form the opposition Rally for Democracy and Progress.

“Whether we’re talking about health services, medicine and other services, whether we’re talking about education, it’s a poor record for the last 24 years, very poor,” he told AFP.

He accused Swapo of using the tools of state to bolster its campaign.

“Democracy, the Swapo style, is basically a joke.”

CASH-STRAPPED OPPOSITION
Across the country, Swapo election posters and flags are ubiquitous, while material from the cash-strapped and fractured opposition parties is difficult to find.

At the Swapo party headquarters in the final days of campaigning, staff relaxed outside in the shade, flicking through newspapers, with a nonchalant confidence and no hint of a party machine on the eve of a competitive election.

With Namibia’s economy among the most healthy on the continent, voters seem likely to stick with the liberation party they know, rather than the opposition they don’t, at least for now.

Voter Cuana Angula said he was “100 per cent” behind Swapo.

“Since 1990, you would have to be blind if you don’t see the changes,” he said. “Look at this road we are on — it’s not like it was here 25 years ago.”