Namibia: Regional Council Elections in 1998

Extracted from: "Namibia" IN Compendium of Elections in Southern Africa (2002), edited by Tom Lodge, Denis Kadima and David Pottie, EISA, 265-267.

The Second Amendment Act to the Electoral Act was approved before the preparations for the Regional Council Elections commenced. It contained a number of changes, among them the new procedure for electing the Electoral Commission, the appointment of the Director of Elections and technical matters, including the empowerment of the court to order the opening of sealed packets containing ballot papers and the production and inspection of certain documents for the purpose of an election application.

Also stipulated was the de-linking of the Directorate of Elections from the Office of the prime minister, to be attached and responsible solely to Parliament. This arrangement will set aside suspicions that the Directorate of Elections is only an extended institution of the prime minister's office, serving only the interests of this office.

The term of office of the first Electoral Commission and Director of Elections ended on 31 March 1998. A new commission was temporarily appointed till 31 January 1999 after which period the new nomination and appointment procedures should have applied. Due to lack of time, however, the temporary commission was reappointed for another year. A new Director of Elections, Mr J Rukambe, was appointed for 5 years. At his own request, the previous Director of Elections, Prof G Tötemeyer, returned to the University. The new Electoral Commission was comprised of Judge J Karuaihe, chairperson (died in car accident in December 1998), Ms I Murangi (public servant), Bishop J Kauluma, Dr B Sandelowsky (educationalist), and Mr V Tonchi (lecturer at university). The Directorate of Elections consists of 12 staff members, including five typists.

During 1998, a new Delimitation Commission was appointed to consider new constituencies and new borderlines of regions and constituencies.

New border lines on which the Commission decided in some regions and constituencies implied the re-registration of thousands of voters. In addition to continued voters registration, supplementary registration was conducted during the period 1-17 September 1998. The final voters list contained the names of 738 870 eligible voters. As 26 constituencies were uncontested, only 534 278 registered voters could vote.

An intensive voter education and information campaign was conducted in cooperation with the National Institute for Democracy, the European Union and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Political parties were not involved in any voter education efforts. The funds allocated to the parties by the state were used for administration purposes and for holding public meetings. The importance of the regional council elections, as an integral part of the intended decentralization policy of the Government, hardly figured as a theme during the election campaign. Only a minimum of posters were put up by political parties and most originated from the Directorate of Elections.

On nomination day, 30 October 1998, SWAPO nominated candidates in all 102 constituencies. In 26 constituencies it was not opposed, a higher number than during the 1992 elections. DTA nominated candidates in 71 constituencies, the UDF in 20 constituencies, and the FCN in 6 constituencies. Nine independent candidates were nominated in nine different constituencies, a higher number than during the first regional council elections.

A total of 594 fixed and mobile stations were established in all the contested constituencies. For this purpose 2 752 electoral officers were temporarily appointed in addition to 30 extra staff members at head office.

Preparations for the elections went smoothly. For the first time ballot papers were printed locally.

Elections were held on Monday, 30 November and Tuesday, 1 December. The first election day was declared a public holiday to encourage people to vote. Most votes were cast on this day.

The voter turnout was again disappointing, although slightly better than during the local authority elections earlier in 1998. Only 213 789 (40.01%) of the 534 278 eligible voters in the constested constituencies cast their vote. SWAPO improved its performance and obtained 67.92% of the votes cast and was represented by 82 councillors. The DTA was less supported than during the 1992 elections. It obtained the support of 23.91% of the votes cast and was represented by 16 councillors. The UDF slightly improved its performance, obtaining 4.45% of the votes cast and four councillors. The FCN was supported by 0.17% of the votes cast. All the independent candidates were unsuccessful. They were supported by 1.16% of the votes cast. Rejected votes amounted to 2.22% of the votes cast.

Of the 208 nominated candidates, 198 were male and 10 female. Of the councillors elected, 98 were male and 4 female. This reflects an unfair gender representation.

International and domestic observers were not interested in attending the regional council elections. The election process went well.

The estimated costs for the 1998 regional council election were N$14 600 000, including voter education and registration. This amounts to N$68.29 per vote cast or N$26.20 per registered voter.