Party will fund its own representative to monitor ballot printing
Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) leader Panduleni Itula says political parties unable to make arrangements to observe ballot paper printing in South Africa (SA) should put their trust in his party to do so.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) on Wednesday said it cannot afford sending over 100 political party representatives to SA at an estimated cost of over N$10 million.
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This comes after the commission spent close to N$1 million on 21 delegates to observe the printing of ballot papers for use in last year's presidential and National Assembly elections.
"It's unfortunate that smaller parties can't send observers, but those who can't go should put their trust in the IPC," Itula told Desert FM yesterday.
"Our responsibility is to guard on behalf of all the Namibian people to protect our constitutional democracy," he said.
Itula supported the ECN's decision not to fund party delegates' travel expenses to SA, agreeing that it would be too costly.
The IPC has agreed to fund its own representative to observe ballot printing in Johannesburg to ensure transparency.
However, smaller parties have expressed concern, arguing they may not be able to afford the costs, effectively excluding them from the oversight process.
"It would be unreasonable to expect the ECN to carry such a financial burden. We have to meet them halfway.
Democracy is expensive, and we need to support the ECN where it's practically possible," Itula said.
"The ECN is not breaking any law. Boycotting the process would be unwise and unpatriotic. The elections must go on, and citizens should still turn up to vote," he said.
Landless People's Movement spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa says it is not sufficient to have the IPC represent political parties, as this defeats the accountability the ECN is supposed to ensure.
"Us relying on IPC is us accepting the fault of the ECN as normal, and we find that quite problematic because the ECN is supposed to have budgeted for such inquiry already for the observers to ensure transparency," he says.
Simataa says trusting one political party is not sufficient as such a party also has its own motives.
Meanwhile, United Democratic Front secretary general Tsaneb Daniel says his party has no issue with funding to SA being cut, but takes issue with the ECN failing corporate transparency.
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"We are not bothered about not going to SA, but it's about transparency and accountability.
The ECN was supposed to prepare beforehand when they gave the tender for observers, because it's a constitutional right," he says.
Daniel says the IPC does not represent all political parties, thereby defeating the purpose of holding the commission accountable.
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