Affirmative Repositioning has given the Electoral Commission of Namibia until tomorrow, 30 July 2020 to approve their application to have AR Walvis Bay registered as an association.
The demand forms part of a four-page letter response to a rejection letter from the ECN.
“Failure to do so, given the political harassment we have endured by an administrative body and official, we will approach the Electoral Court on an urgent basis to seek the court to nullify your decision and compel the Commission to approve our application,” AR wrote.
The ECN wrote to AR on 28 July 2020 to inform them that they cannot approve their application for AR Walvis Bay as the commission resolved on 27 July 2020 that their application does not comply with the provisions of section 148 and 149(1) of the Electoral Act No. 5 of 2014.
Section 148 provides that an association or organisation, incorporated or unincorporated, which complies with the Act for registration as a political party, that desires to participate in any election for members of a local authority council, must in the prescribed application form and in the prescribed manner, apply to the Commission for registration as an organisation for that purpose in respect of such council.
According to Section 149, the Commission must direct the Chief Electoral Officer to register the applicant as an organisation if the Commission is satisfied that
The commission further said that the application does not comply because the proposed name, abbreviated name and distinctive symbol, is identical to the proposed name, abbreviated name and distinctive symbol of AR Windhoek which they say they have already approved.
AR in their response said that ECN erred in their definition of section 149, saying the Act is explicit in that it only authorises ECN to refuse registration of an organisation on grounds that its identity is similar to that of a registered organisation or association.
“As far as we are concerned, in terms of section 149, there is no registered organisation that shares similarity with ours.”
