PRESS RELEASE

In a Press Release issued on January 31, 2008, NSHR said it was “deeply concerned about credible allegations of irregularities in the recruitment and appointment of candidate registration officers and or their assistants for the supplementary registration of the voters at the newly proclaimed town of Omuthiya”. The human rights organization called upon the ECN “to correct this situation as a matter of urgency”.

“However, we are deeply disturbed at the prospect of lack of fairness and objectivity if the ECN were to probe its own deeds or those of its Regional Council partners. An independent body, such as the Anti-Corruption Commission, is best disposed to perform the job. Also, it is just absurd for ECN’s spokesperson Mujoro to claim, as per NBC reports last night, that the highly partisan SWAPO Party controlled Regional Councils ‘are there to serve all members of their communities without bias or favor to anyone, regardless of their political affiliation’.

Mind you that Mr. Mujoro failed to state, categorically, that such Regional Councils are in fact impartial and unbiased. There are many people in this country who are being threatened with being axed from State employment, simply because they are no longer SWAPO Party members or supporters. Hence, as we have already stated, we repeat that the ECN recruitment process must not only be fair, but it must also necessarily be seen to be fair. Any reasonable person with an average intelligence quotient can hardly expect the SWAPO controlled Regional Councils to be even-handed and act with the required fairness towards members and supporters of the rival political parties”, said NSHR executive director Phil ya Nangoloh.

In terms of Article 18 of the Namibian Constitution on administrative justice, “administrative bodies and administrative officials shall act fairly and reasonably and comply with the requirements imposed upon such bodies and officials by common law and any relevant legislation…”

However, the ECN is correct in assuming that Regional Councils “are expected to know [personally] persons who live within their respective Constituencies and Local Authority Area”. Accordingly, Governor Penda ya Ndakolo of the Oshikoto Region and SWAPO Party Regional Coordinator for said Region, Armas Amukwiyu, do, indeed, know personally those residents who are SWAPO Party members and or supporters and those who are not.

At a SWAPO Party rally at Omuthiya last Saturday, both SWAPO Party Secretary General Pendukeni Ithana and Governor ya Ndakolo made or subscribed to a SWAPO Party statement to the effect that the town of Omuthiya is a “personal property of the SWAPO Party” and that other parties will not be allowed to take part in the administration of the town.

Furthermore, NSHR warns that in fragile democracies such as Namibia, citizens must at all times have full trust in State institutions, failing which the alternative is anarchy and lawlessness and, in the final analysis, violent conflict.

“Hence, to expect people to perceive these SWAPO-controlled Regional Councils to act fairly and reasonably towards members and supporters of rival political parties is as impossible and unreasonable as to expect the Devil to recruit people to go to Heaven”, ya Nangoloh concluded.

It is also unreasonable to expect the public to rubber stamp the “standing arrangement” which ECN has with all Regional Councils “whereby Regional Councils would give assistance to the ECN by receiving all application forms from prospective election officials and dispatch them to the ECN Head Office for screening and selection of officials to perform election duties”. Such arrangement must not be allowed to detract from the basic requirement that elections must not only be free and fair, but it must also be perceived, as such, as per the constitutional administrative justice doctrine.