SIX opposition parties are claiming that possible rigging of the election results could be taking place, following what they claim were a number of irregularities in the election process.

In a statement issued yesterday, the parties - APP, Nudo, NDP, RP, RDP and the UDF - said they had decided to "submit all our evidence to legal experts for advice, and depending on the advice we get, we would consider approaching the High Court in order to verify the legitimacy of these elections".

Speaking on behalf of the parties, Republican Party President Henk Mudge told the media that the Electoral Commission of Namibia had once again proven itself incompetent.

"The ECN in its current form and with its current leadership is just not competent to ensure free, fair and credible elections in Namibia," he said.

Asked whether the six parties considered the actions of the ECN as a sign of incompetence or rigging, RDP representative Libolly Haufiku answered: "The catalogue of incidents will show that there is possible rigging taking place."

Among the irregularities highlighted by the six parties are the voter registration process, which they say allowed a number of Angolan nationals with no proof of citizenship to register in the northern regions.

The parties also pointed to the lack of a conclusive figure with regard to the number of people on the voters' roll, with at least four different figures being communicated to the parties - the latest being a total of 822 344.

"The fact is that at this late stage, it seems as if not even the ECN knows how many voters were registered," Mudge stated.

The parties further pointed to the delay in the announcement of the election results.

"As we speak now (16h00 yesterday), it is now 43 hours since the polling stations closed and still we have no final result. If we assumed that there were one million registered voters and a turnout of 80 per cent, then 800 000 people should have voted at 1 000 polling stations, meaning on average 800 votes per polling station. If counted over 24 hours, then it would have meant 33 votes per hour. Over 43 hours, this means 18 votes per hour," Mudge stated.

He said that as stakeholders in the voting process, the parties wanted clarity on the various issues. He added that about eight parties had sought an audience with ECN Chairperson Victor Tonchi on Sunday night to highlight these irregularities, but said that Tonchi had refused to meet with them, and instead instructed them to place their concerns on paper for him to respond to in due course.

"We as stakeholders are extremely worried about what has been allowed to happen and probably is still happening. We have a long list of serious irregularities that took place," Mudge said.

Other irregularities alleged by the six parties include the disappearance of two ballot booklets from the Omukumo Primary School polling station; the dropping of ballot boxes without a Police escort at the Emma Hoogenhout Primary school at 01h30 yesterday morning; a presiding officer at Centaurus High School attempting to display results different from those counted and confirmed by party agents; and the refusal of ECN officials to display results at their polling stations in terms of the Electoral Act.

They also claim incidents such as voters being allowed to vote more than once, a Swapo Councillor at Ongenga being seen in private talks with ECN officials at a polling station; the widespread transportation of ballot boxes before counting; ballots being cast without the ECN stamp; party agents being prevented from entering polling stations; and a deputy minister openly campaigning at polling stations in the Omaheke Region.

"We have throughout tried our level best to contribute in order for the elections to be free, fair, credible and a true reflection of the will of the people. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the ruling party and the ECN", the parties said.

Asked what their position was on the SADC pronouncement yesterday morning that the elections had been free and fair, the six parties responded that SADC's announcement was premature.

Werner Claasen of the UDF stated that SADC was "pre-empting the whole issue", adding that "what SADC did is totally unacceptable. Nobody can appreciate that."

Haufiku added that the elections were not yet over as the results were yet to be released, stating his disappointment that SADC had "jumped the gun to declare the elections free and fair."

He said the parties had also resolved to write a letter to SADC's security organ highlighting the irregularities that the parties claim have taken place.