The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has submitted an urgent self-review application to the Electoral Court of Namibia to fix a mistake made by a returning officer who allocated a seat to a party that actually trailed an association in the Rundu Town Council election.
The incorrect seat was declared on Saturday, after the regional council and local authority elections were held the preceding Wednesday.
In Rundu, the Rundu Urban Community Association (Ruca) earned 674 votes in the local authority race, securing one seat. However, the returning officer mistakenly allocated that seat to the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), which received 642 votes.
In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, the ECN said it is pursuing legal action because, having made the decision through its designated official, it no longer has jurisdiction over the matter.
The ECN emphasized that a competent court is needed to review and set aside the returning officer’s decision.
Chief electoral and referenda officer Peter Shaama stated that the commission is acting to uphold the integrity of the electoral process. The affected parties were brought into an urgent meeting on Tuesday.
Shaama noted that the Rundu local authority has seven council seats, with a total of 12,560 votes cast. Using the quota method, one seat corresponds to 1,794 votes.
According to Shaama, Swapo amassed 7,148 votes (enough for four seats), the Rundu Concerned Citizens’ Association (RCCA) secured 1,337 votes (one seat), and Affirmative Repositioning (AR) earned 799 votes (one seat).
Ruca received the next highest tally at 674 votes, while the IPC had the fewest at 642. Instead of awarding the remaining seat to Ruca, the returning officer erroneously allocated it to the IPC.
The ECN characterized the legal action as a demonstration of its commitment to transparency and to ensuring that seat allocations on the Rundu Town Council truly reflect the electorate’s will.
This action follows a prior self-review lodged last month, in which a Swapo candidate in Nkurenkuru was erroneously declared elected by a returning officer while another candidate had been registered to run.
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