WINDHOEK, 1 December 1999
As voting in Namibia entered its second day, the Electoral Commission
managed to diffuse a potentially explosive situation concerning the
indelible ink which is being used on voters.
Some voters reportedly discovered that the ink placed on their thumbs washes
off easily, raising fears among parties, of double voting and rigging.
The electoral commission however met with all political parties, to discuss
the issue and "a consensus was reached that nothing should impede the
electoral process and that the current inking should be maintained", said
the Director of Elections, Joram Rukambe.
He said it was agreed at the meeting that "once the elections have been
concluded, the Electoral Commission must account for all materials used in
this election and should reconcile issues".
Addressing newsmen at a press briefing, Rukambe said there had been some
cases of misapplication of the ink and that anyone who tries to vote twice
would face the rule of law.
"The ink was supposed to have been applied along the cuticle but at some
stations the officials applied it wrongly, and new instructions to ensure
that polling officers apply the ink correctly have gone out to all regions
of the country", he said.
Meanwhile, voting is expected to end at 21:00 hrs today and counting of
votes will start at eight tomorrow morning. The first results are scheduled
to be relayed to the state- of-the-art Election Results Centre in Windhoek
later in the morning.
In the last election of 1994, the ruling South West Africa People's
Organisation (SWAPO) won 53 seats out of 72, with Democratic Turnhalle
Alliance (DTA) managing 15 and a number of smaller parties sharing the
remaining four. (SARDC)
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