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ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE PROVISIONAL STATISTICS ON THE 2014

GENERAL REGISTRATION OF VOTERS (GRV)

BY ADV. NOTEMBA TJIPUEJA

CHAIRPERSON OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF NAMIBIA (ECN),

Fellow Commissioners

Director of Elections, Prof. Paul Isaak

ECN Staff members

Members of the Press

Distinguished Representatives of Political Parties

Representatives of Civil Society Organizations and the Media

Ladies and Gentlemen

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), in accordance with its statutory mandate

of preparing, publishing and maintaining a National Voters Register and Local Authority

Voters Register, has successfully conducted the third General Registration of Voters

(GRV). The process commenced at 08:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 15 January 2014 and

ended on the 2nd

March 2014. Section 15 of the Electoral Act, Act 24 of 1992 (as

amended) provides for the conduct of General Registration of Voters (GRV) at intervals

of 10 years. The 1st GRV took place in 1992 (21 September 27 October 1992) and it

was followed by a 2nd

GRV in 2003 (1 July 31 August 2003). This was therefore the

third General Registration of Voters.

In keeping with our mandate and core value of transparency, we are pleased to announce

the provisional statistics of the third General Registration of Voters (GRV).

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This was the very first time in the history of Namibia to use a fully-fledged biometrics

voters registration system. By its very nature, the biometric voters registration system

and its data capturing process is a precise and therefore an elaborate process. The system

puts high premium on the accurate capturing of data to ensure the accuracy of the

information and ultimately, the integrity of the end-product, which is the Voters

Register. Admittedly, there is an inherent slight trade-off between speed and accuracy in

the system when precise steps are involved. These include the verification of required

documents, the capturing of the voters data on the Voters Registration Kits (VRK),

taking of photographs, signature and finger prints, the verification of captured voter data

and finally, the issuing of the voters cards.

In light of this background, the ECN already acknowledged that the process initially

started at a slow pace at some registration venues during the first week of the registration

process. The teething problems observed at the start of the GRV process were not totally

unexpected considering the magnitude of the exercise and the rollout of a completely new

technology. However we nevertheless achieved the overall objective of reaching as many

eligible voters as possible.

Distinguished Members of the Press

Let me share with you some notable challenges encountered during the GRV exercise:

Legal Requirements for Local Authority elections

Allow me also to clarify the requirements for registration as a voter for the Local

Authority elections.

Article 111 (3) of the Namibian Constitution states that Persons shall be qualified to

vote in elections for Local Authority Councils if such persons have been resident within

the jurisdiction of a Local Authority for not less than one year and immediately prior to

such election and if such persons are qualified in elections in the National Assembly.

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In compliance with this constitutional provision, Namibians wishing to register for Local

Authority elections are required to proof their 12 months consecutive residency in their

respective Local Authority areas. This could be by way of providing such prove through

their water and electricity bills or telephone accounts from their municipal, town or

village councils as further regulated by the Commission through Government Notice 147

which is a stipulation of the law.

The Electoral Commission is fully aware that the utility bills are in most instances not in

the name of all the members of the households and that the expansion of our cities and

towns has resulted in residents who live in areas where it is virtually impossible to prove

residency. There have been numerous complaints from members of the public concerning

the registration requirements applicable for Local Authorities elections in particular.

The ECN noted with concern that the stringent requirements for registration as a voter in

a local authority area has discouraged many eligible voters to register in their respective

local authorities. We fervently hope that the ongoing electoral law review process will

consider appropriate registration requirements for local authorities. The ECN will once

again afford eligible and would-be eligible voters an opportunity to register themselves

during the supplementary registration processes preceding the 2015 Regional Councils

and Local authority elections. The aim is to ensure that all those who could not be

registered for local authority elections in particular during the GRV exercise will be

registered.

Transport

The ECN faced serious problems regarding transport with acute shortages of suitable

vehicles at the start of the GRV process. The ECN could not secure the required number

of vehicles in order to successfully conduct the general voters registration process. As a

result, some registration teams especially in the urban centers, had to resort to sharing

vehicles. This caused a serious delay in the opening of some of the registration venues

especially the Windhoek Municipal area of the Khomas region. In alleviating the vehicles

shortages being experienced, the ECN resorted to contracting private citizens with

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suitable vehicles to assist in the transportation of personnel and materials during the GRV

process.

Mistakes on Voter Cards

The ECN is fully aware that in some instances, the voter cards that were issued may have

certain spelling mistakes and factual errors. Whilst we regret these errors we are pleased

to inform holders of such voter cards that ECN will conduct a supplementary registration

of voters before the forthcoming Presidential and National Assembly elections. ECN will

make use of this opportunity to rectify any of the mistakes on the Voters Cards. Please

rest assured that new Voter Cards with the correct details will be issued then.

Furthermore, the ECN would like to inform eligible voters who may not have been able

to register for the local authority elections for a variety of reasons that they will be able to

register during the said supplementary registration exercise. Dates for the supplementary

registration will be determined and formally announced at a later stage. This period will

also cater for all persons who will be turning eighteen years between now and the weeks

preceding the forthcoming elections, as well as those whose voter cards may get lost or

damaged.

Registration of Eligible Namibians abroad

We have registered 3 441 eligible Namibians at registration venues established at our

foreign missions around the world. This number appears to be quite low. The

Commission will investigate this issue and consider new approaches to ensure that more

eligible Namibians living abroad are afforded an opportunity to register as voters. One

option is to establish mobile registration teams to visit strategic places where Namibians

are concentrated in significant numbers.

Director of Ceremonies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

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As I indicated earlier, the 3rd

General Registration of Voters exercise was a mammoth

national task as it indeed entailed an unchartered territory of enormous proportion for a

young democracy such as Namibia and a relatively small institution like the ECN.

The GRV entailed:-

699 Teams (Fixed: 175, Semi-Fixed: 382 and Mobile: 142)

3,852 Registration points

3,866 Temporary Registration Officials (including 58 Registration

Officials at Diplomatic Mission)

1,268 Deployed Police Officers

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have made available a comprehensive report on the provisional GRV statistics which

has been circulated.

However, allow me to share with you a summary of the report by highlighting the

following numbers of the Provisional Statistics of the 2014 General Registration of

Voters (GRV) exercise:

Number of Registered Voters in-country

1,158,925

Grand Total

1,162,366

Number of persons Registered Foreign

Missions

3 441

Duplicates detected through AFIS matching

(persons who registered more than once)

1 747

Number of people who registered through

sworn statements in respect of Identity

188,855

Number of people who registered through

sworn statements in respect of Citizenship

106,313

Percentage of Youth Registered

44%

Undoubtedly, looking at the figures one is tempted to declare that the Namibian youth

have truly come of age. The so-called generation Y, which includes the BORN FREES,

clearly shows that out of the 1, 158,925 total registered voters, 508,459 belong to the

Generation Y. Clearly, the youth have come on board and are seriously taking part in the

affairs of the Nation.

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I also wish to add that it is no accident that the youth are taking part in the electoral

processes at this point in time. The ECN has designed specific programs which targeted

the youth. The ECN has long known that the youth love technology. Unlike the older

generations, the youth is ready to embrace the introduction of new technologies.

Therefore, the ECN has engaged the youth using social media platforms and stimulated

the youths love of fun and music at Road shows across the country. This has born fruits

as evident from the third GRV and the results are all there for all to see.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Having concluded the registration process is only the first process in the many

interconnected electoral processes of an Election cycle. However, the registration process

is pivotal and if well executed, it lays a solid foundation for other processes including the

election. The remaining steps to conclude the GRV process are all prescribed by law and

are as follows:

The completion of data uploading & consolidation process;

Integrity checks and Quality Control;

The compilation of the provisional voters register;

The actual display of the provisional voters register during the Objection Period;

The adjudication of the objection cases by Magistrates;

The cleaning of the provisional voters register and the updating thereof following

the ruling by Magistrates;

The printing of the Final Voters Register and gazetting thereof on 27 May 2014.

In Conclusion Ladies and Gentlemen,

I can confidently report to you that the GRV took place in a peaceful and calm

atmosphere across the country. The ECN would like to thank every eligible Namibia

voter who ceased the opportunity presented by the GRV process and who went in droves

to the registration venues and registered themselves. This was an opportunity availed to

each and every eligible Namibian to register as a voter which will enable you to exercise

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your fundamental right to elect those who will represent you at all levels of government,

be it Presidential, National Assembly, Regional Councils or Local Authority.

Allow me to profoundly thank the Voters who came in their masses to register, our

leaders at all levels, sister government agencies including the Police and Security forces.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) would like to make use of this opportunity

to thank the electorate, including the entire Namibian nation for the patience and

understanding shown by eligible persons while waiting to be registered as voters at

different registration points across the country and at all Namibias foreign missions

across the globe.

The ECN wishes to express its profound gratitude to all the staff members who

contributed to the success of this very important and historic milestone. Allow me to also

extend a special word of thanks, through the Inspector General of the Namibian Police, to

our man and woman in uniform who participated in this process, for their selfless

dedication and professional conduct.

The ECN further wishes to acknowledge and encourage the role played by leaders at the

National, Regional and all other levels in popularizing the GRV. Equally we

acknowledge the important role played by other stakeholders including the media and

civil society organization, and Community Leaders. It is worth noting that the Namibia

Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) through the languages services in particular played an

important role.

On that note, let us congratulate ourselves and celebrate as a Nation the successful 3rd

GRV. On this positive note, let me take this opportunity to wish you all a joyous 24th

Independence Anniversary!!!

WITH THESE FEW REMARKS, I THANK YOU.

And May God Bless Namibia!!