Questions were however raised by the EU mission and the regional Non-Governmental Organisations Network for Electoral Support in Southern Africa(NGONESSA)about the accuracy of the total voter registration figures in the absence of a voters' roll.

Former Finnish Minister of Health and Social Services, Eeva Kuuskoski,who is heading the EU observer group and Mr Paako Pitkaten, in charge of coordinating the operation, both ruled out possibilities of double voting swaying the trend of results.

"In any country, one can fool the system; one can vote twice. But the question is- are they in hundreds or in thousands? From our observation in Namibia, this was not a pattern", Pitkanen said at a press conference today.

The EU team, working closely with the Southern African Development Community(SADC) Parliamentary Forum, regional observer missions and local NGOs, covered 300 polling stations and were present in 12 of Namibia's 13 regions.

Controversy over control mechanisms ensued on November 30, the first day of elections in Namibia, when opposition party elements claimed that the indelible ink used to mark voters, easily washed off with ordinary dish-washing agents.

The Directorate of elections however diffused the situation at a meeting with political parties, which reportedly reached an uneasy consensus to allow voting to continue. Electoral staff were instructed to apply the substance along the cuticle to avoid erasure.

The EU group said there may be doubts about the accuracy of the total voter registration figure of 878,000 in Namibia's election. The Election authorities have not been using a voters roll, limiting verification options. Election authorities said here that printing out the roll was an expensive exercise.

"Regardless of extensive registration efforts, voter rolls are inaccurate and not used in these elections", said Kuuskoski, adding that the lists were "a crucial and necessary instrument in an election process".

'A consequence of not having an accurate voters' register was that political parties and voters could not control the list. In addition the verification of tendered votes was not possible", she said.

NGONESSA team leader Mwelwa Muleya concurred with this view in a separate press briefing, saying the non-use of a voter's register was a weakness in the electoral system, open to multiple voting.

NGONESAA commended the Directorate of elections for responding promptly to reports of electoral malpractices adding that the elections were "handled fairly well' despite the glitches.

The voting process was sluggish partly because of the large amount of tendered ballots(votes cast outside of a point of original registration), both observer groups explained.

Kuuskoski said her team had recommended to the Namibian Electoral Commission and its Directorate, to establish a population register to increase the credibility of the polls and also serve "Multiple purposes".

With a population of about 1.6 million, observers say the registration figures do not tally. In 1994, the voter population was about 600,000.

"There is a general dispute going on that 878,000 is far too much; if the counting turn-out is low, the figure can be doubted. A better reference is to go by turn-out in earler elections" said Pitkanen.

The observer team pointed out that the allocation of air time on the Namibian broadcasting Corporation(NBC), to political parties on the basis of the ratio of parliamentary seats gave the ruling South West African People's Organisation(SWAPO) an overwhelming advantage.

Swapo, which is leading seven opposition parties in the results announced so far, won 53 seats in the 72 member parliament in 1994 elections while the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance(DTA) took 15, and the rest were shared amongst smaller parties.

Swapo and its President Sam Nujoma appear set for resounding victories in both parliamentary and presidential polls here. Counting is on-going with close to half of the vote already announced. Final results are expected Sunday.

The EU and NGONESSA are recommending more education for electoral support staff, establishment of clear guidelines on counting procedures, including reconciliation of results.

'It is hoped that the slow process of counting and delay of announcing of results of elections will not be counter-productive for the credibility of elections", said Kuuskoski.