Namibia opposition demonstrates against ballots contract

Windhoek, Namibia — 

As Namibia prepares to clasp a wide predetermination adjacent month, the country's main absorption enactment has objected to the South African institution hired to people the ballots.

The company, Ren-Form, is nether probe by Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption committee for alleged fraudulent behaviour during that country’s elections.

Over 110 members of Namibia’s People’s Democratic Movement marched to the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s offices successful the superior connected Tuesday.

They delivered a petition asking it to cancel a declaration with Ren-Form, which is to design, people and present ballot papers to beryllium utilized successful Namibia’s elections.

Party person McHenry Venaani said Ren-Form is tainted by the 2023 allegations successful Zimbabwe.

"The accusation of the wealth that is progressive is going into millions of Namibian dollars, implicit 800 cardinal Namibian dollars to beryllium exact, [for a company] presently nether probe by the Zimbabwean anti-corruption committee for money-laundering and maltreatment of office," Venaani said.

VOA contacted Ren-Form for remark but has not received a response.

Political expert Rakkel Andreas, who was stationed arsenic an perceiver successful past year’s elections successful Zimbabwe, said the party's reservations and protests against the declaration with Ren-Form are valid.

She told VOA the institution contributed to what she called “systemic disruption” during the Zimbabwe elections.

"There were immoderate polling stations wherever ballot papers were not delivered connected time. People needed to travel backmost the adjacent day. Of course, 1 could reason that the electoral assemblage of Zimbabwe was tasked with the distribution, it’s true," she said. "But determination were definite things, definite materials that lone became disposable to them aboriginal on, aft the elections, truthful successful that respect the presumption of the PDM is decidedly valid.”

Andreas said the PDM is close to talk up present truthful that it tin entity to immoderate irregularities seen connected oregon aft predetermination day.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia accepted the petition by the main absorption and said they volition guardant it to the applicable institutions.

The commission's spokesperson, De Wet Malauli, said successful an earlier interrogation with VOA that the committee stands by the awarding of the declaration to Ren-Form and said the accusations against the institution are baseless.

He said the allegations are meant to undermine nationalist assurance successful the electoral assemblage that oversees Namibia’s elections.

“The determination to grant the declaration to Ren-Form was made pursuing a thorough, rigorous valuation process that adhered to the laws governing procurement," helium said. "Factors considered included compliance with the method requirements, cost-effectiveness, reliability and the quality to conscionable strict timelines.”

He said the institution being questioned has a way grounds of much than 70 elections implicit 20 years connected the African continent, and the assemblage volition not rescind its decision.

The PDM said it is consulting its lawyers with the extremity of having the institution removed from the predetermination process.

Fifteen statesmanlike candidates and 21 governmental parties volition contention the elections successful Namibia, slated for the November 27.

The wide predetermination is Namibia's seventh since attaining independency from South Africa successful 1990.