Africa-Press – Namibia.
Affirmative Repositioning (AR) Member of Parliament, Vaino Hangula, has proposed a major electoral reform. He is calling for the harmonisation of all national elections in Namibia to be conducted on a single day every five years.
He made this suggestion in Parliament this week, saying the current system is costly and inefficient.
Currently, Namibia holds Presidential and National Assembly elections separately from Regional Council and Local Authority elections, even though all of them occur every five years. Hangula said this split system wastes money and places a heavy burden on the country’s resources.
“These separate elections cost us more than N$500 million each. That means together, they cost over one billion Namibian dollars every five years,” he stressed. He maintained that “This is a huge amount of money that could be used for other important needs”.
Hangula believes that having one national election day would save money, make the voting process easier to manage, and encourage more people to participate in elections. “A single election day would reduce costs, improve efficiency, and help more people take part in our democracy,” he said.
He also pointed out that many Namibians, including civil society organisations, political parties, and ordinary citizens, support the idea of combining elections. According to Hangula, this shows that people want change and are ready for a simpler, more affordable election system.
Hangula plans to formally present a motion in Parliament next week. He indicates that he will ask that the proposal be sent to a parliamentary standing committee, which would hold public consultations and prepare a full report with recommendations.
“This is not something we can rush. We need to involve the public and listen to all stakeholders to make sure the reform works for everyone,” Hangula said.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission of Namibia is expected to release the official electoral calendar for the upcoming Regional and Local Authority elections later today.
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