Staff Reporter
MEMBERS of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) took to the streets on Tuesday, 22 October 2024, protesting the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN) decision to award the tender for printing ballot papers for the upcoming elections to a South African company accused of corruption, Ren-Form CC.
“Ren-Form CC is an entity tainted by corruption and controversy as it is currently under investigation for inflating the prices of election-related materials and equipment by over 400% for the 2023 general elections in Zimbabwe. The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has subsequently awarded this company a similar tender, despite the ongoing investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission of Zimbabwe,” PDM’s Secretary General, Manuel Ngaringombe, said in a statement on Monday.
According to Ngaringombe, the ECN’s decision to award Ren-Form the tender is “irrational and does a disservice to the tenets of a free and fair election.”
The protest coincides with ECN officials and representatives from 18 political parties being in Johannesburg, South Africa, to observe the design, layout, production, printing, packaging, and delivery of ballot papers.
The political parties represented include Action Democratic Movement Party (ADM), Affirmative Repositioning (AR), All People’s Party (APP), Body of Christ Party (BCP), Congress of Democrats (CoD), Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), Landless People’s Movement (LPM), Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF), National Democratic Party of Namibia (NDP), National Empowerment Fighting Corruption (NEFC), National Patriotic Front of Namibia (NPF), National Unity Democratic Organisation of Namibia (NUDO), Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), SWANU, SWAPO, United Democratic Front of Namibia (UDF), United Namibians Party (UNP), and United People’s Movement (UPM).
The delegation is expected to return on 29 October.
