Staff Reporter
THE Electoral Commission of Namibia said that the ballot paper discrepancies which were discovered recently have been rectified and the correct amount of ballot papers were delivered at Hosea Kutako International Airport on Tuesday.
The discrepancies of ballot papers for the Regional Councils and Local Authorities elections were identified recently by the ECN in the presence of representatives of political parties, organisations/associations and candidates participating in the ongoing verification, packing and dispatching process at the ECN Logistics Store.
The ECN said that it has taken decisive action and the discrepancies were promptly rectified by the contracted supplier, Uniprint Global, a South African-based company.
According to the ECN, overall discrepancies were noted for some constituencies and local authorities in the Kavango West, Ohangwena, Khomas, Omusati, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, Kunene and Erongo regions, impacting the quantities required at specific polling stations.
The ECN’s Peter Shaama said in a statement that all the costs of printing the additional ballot papers were borne by the contracted supplier.
Upon arrival, the consignment was transported to the ECN Logistics Store under police escort for verification, allocation and packing according to the respective constituencies and local authorities. The process commenced on Tuesday afternoon in the presence of representatives of political parties, organisations/associations and candidates.
The dispatch of all sensitive election materials will commence today, Wednesday, to the affected regions under police escort. Verification of sensitive materials is expected to take place at all regional police stations on arrival in the respective regions.
These election materials will be safely stored at the police stations until the day of deployment on 23 November, in preparation for special voting on 24 November, and on 24–25 November in preparation for the main election day on 26 November.
Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN)
