The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) on Wednesday held a regional stakeholder meeting at Gobabis in the Omaheke Region.
The engagement was held to introduce the commission’s regional team and to present its regional electoral calendar as the country prepares for the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections slated for 27 November this year.
Regional electoral officer Josef Amwandi said the meeting is for the ECN to demonstrate its preparedness in conducting elections and also to engage the stakeholders and get their inputs into the processes of elections.
‘We are having this engagement so that you can also guide us on what to do in certain circumstances. Another important reason is also for the commission to solicit resources from other institutions,’ Amwandi said.
He furthermore urged ministries, government agencies and other stakeholders from the region to help the commission with resources such as vehicles and accommodation to be utilised during the electoral process from the registration
of voters to conducting of the elections.
The voter registration in the Omaheke Region will take place from 03 June to 01 August at all 289 provisional registration points.
Regional voter and civic education officer Edward Tjituera emphasised that voter education is important as it impacts knowledge and develops citizens’ competence and confidence in the electoral processes.
It further promotes ethical behaviour in the electoral process and eradicates electoral fraud while making information available and accessible to all constituents, he said.
‘There is also civic education which is aimed at giving knowledge and understanding on the meaning of democracy, the roles, responsibilities and rights of citizens,’ Tjituera noted.
The commission, he revealed, will be deploying five youth ambassadors to encourage and make sure that young people use their rights and participate in the electoral process and called on the regional leadership to do the same in their constituencies.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency