Christof Maletsky
13 May 2008
THE Electoral Commission of Namibia has accused Swapo and the Rally for Democracy and Progress of "selective morality" for interfering in staff matters at the elections body.
Swapo and RDP came to the defence of staff members whom the ECN placed on special leave because of irregularities linked to the Omuthiya local authority election.
According to ECN Chairperson Victor Tonchi, it was disappointing and shameful for political parties to have taken positions on the disciplinary action taken against the Director of Elections Philemon Kanime, his deputy Ananias Elago and staff member Ezekiel Shigwedha.
Tonchi was addressing a media briefing in Windhoek yesterday.
In an recent interview with the NBC, Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) leader Elijah Ngurare called on the ECN to reinstate both Elago and Shigwedha, while the RDP questioned Kanime' suspension, stating he was given the boot because of the demands of the SPYL.
According to Tonchi, Kanime was put on special leave "due to serious infractions and negligence of duty, part of which was withholding information critical to operations of the Omuthiya elections from the Commission".
He said the cases were being dealt within the context of the employer-employee relationship.
"What interest do political parties have in staff members of the ECN?" he asked.
He said although it was not the ECN's intention to engage in a tug of war with political parties, comments coming from the parties were not helpful or conducive for the electoral process.
"It is rather disappointing and shameful that the two political parties have taken positions with regard to ECN staff members along partisan lines.
Such behaviour undermines the independence of the Electoral Commission and defeats the purpose of its very existence," he said.
Kanime and others were suspended shortly after the Omuthiya election was postponed.
It had been set for February 29, but postponed because of objections by both Swapo and RDP.
Subsequently the names of two individuals - Petrus Nahole and Magnus Nangombe - were removed from the voters' roll.
Tonchi said Nahole told the Ondangwa Magistrate that he was no longer a resident of Omuthiya while Nangombe had missed the deadline for the registration.
Commissioner Shafimana Ueitele challenged the RDP or any person with information to approach the courts on Nangombe's exclusion from the voters' roll.
According to the ECN, Nangombe was "erroneously" included on the list and that was part of the reason why the staff members were put on special leave.
"Put in a broader perspective, the unlawful and malicious inclusion of Mr Magnus Nangombe in the Omuthiya voters' roll was not an isolated disciplinary incident," Tonchi claimed.
He said the ECN had "over the past few years" experienced some challenges emanating from actions or omissions of some staff members in sensitive positions.
Tonchi alleged that the suspended staff members failed to act impartially and independently.
The ECN also denied reports that May 16 had been set as the new date for the Omuthiya election.
This denial was, however, the direct opposite of advertisements placed by the ECN in newspapers on May 2, which announced that the president had declared May 16 polling day.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Namibian. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
