Ndonga Linena vote recount case struck from roll

Ndonga Linena vote recount case struck from roll KENYA KAMBOWE



RUNDU

A matter between the All People’s Party (APP) and the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) over the disputed November 2020 Ndonga Linena constituency election results has been struck from the Electoral Court roll.

APP secretary-general Vincent Kanyetu says deputy judge president Hosea Angula on Tuesday ordered that the matter be struck from the roll.

The hearing took place on 19 March before judges Angula, Boas Usiku and Hannelie Prinsloo.

Kanyetu said the party would reorganise and return to court on a later date.

“He [Judge Angula] is saying we should have first approached ECN to give us access the material before going to court. But if you look at the whole thing, it is already done. We have written to ECN through our lawyer requesting a recount and ECN did not bother to give us a response.

“What we are going to do now is that we are going to re-strategise with our lawyer and go back to court.”

The APP is represented by Henry Shimutwikeni.

The case

On 18 January, Shimutwikeni - on behalf of APP - approached the Electoral Court with an application to have the votes for that constituency recounted.

The APP is challenging the outcome of the 25 November 2020 election after party agents observed ballots cast in favour of their candidate declared as spoilt.

The party alleged that some voters did not mark the appropriate box on the ballot, but made crosses on the face of APP candidate Djami Daniel.

A total of 57 votes were declared spoilt when the ECN announced the final results for Ndonga Linena.

The APP believes that if a recount is done, it will prove that Daniel was the legitimate winner.

Last December, Swapo’s candidate, Michael Kampota, was sworn in as the councillor for the constituency after securing a mere 12 more votes than Daniel.

ECN chairperson Notemba Tjipueja and chief electoral officer Theo Mujoro, as well as political parties Swapo, the Popular Democratic Movement and the Independent Patriots for Change are the respondents along with urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni in this matter.

kenya@namibiansun.com