Electoral Commission of Namibia chief electoral officer Theo Mujoro said Dr Panduleni Itula is applying to register a political party called the Independent Patriots for Change.In an interview with Eagle FM Tuesday, Mujoro also said there are two applications from AR Walvis Bay and AR Windhoek as well as the Rehoboth Independent Town Management Association and Omaruru Hakahana Community Development Association
Rundu Urban Community Association. A 7th application is expected from another association.
According to Mujoro, the decision by the Supreme Court was a landmark ruling and had important implications for the electoral process.
“When this decision was handed down the commission welcomed it as they have a duty to the Namibian people “And we are committed to that. As a country, we have decided to use EVMs for about 10 years and members of the political parties went to the manufacturing factory.
“The decision was not imposed by the Electoral Commission but the decision to use EVMs was done with wide consultation with political parties and civil society,” Mujoro said.
The counting of ballot papers is challenging, said Mujoro.
He said the commission is engaging with the manufacturers in terms of the possibilities of a new version that has a voter-verified paper trail.
“It is not a simple process and we need to look at what we have,” Mujoro said, adding that after the engagement, the commission plans to sit down with the stakeholders to present the options and facts.
“We need to verify whether the EVMs we have is compatible with the VVPAT or whether we will need to upgrade,” Mujoro said.
The current EVMs cost the taxpayers about N$132m and to “discard the patch we have will cost” Namibians another couple of N$100m.
“It does not come cheap,” Mujoro said.
