Africa-Press – Namibia. Presiding officers of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) at various polling stations at Grootfontein all voiced great satisfaction with the ordinated manner and procedural maturity in which yesterday’s by-elections were conducted.
All polling stations, including mobile ones, opened to the public at 7h00.
No technical hiccups were observed or reported throughout the day, which allowed voters to smoothly cast their votes in their respective areas of residence.
ECN presiding officer at the Grootfontein Community Library Jeniffer Mutji said the calmness and turnout observed at her polling station demonstrates how far Namibians have come in terms of understanding their constitutional rights and how voting is an integral part of the country’s thriving democracy.
“All the people we have received since morning really made our job very easy, as many understood how the voting process works and even the calmness and cooperation shown. One can see that we have come of age as a people. I am really happy with how everything went at our station,” she said.
At the Otjivanda Secondary School polling station, the turnout was not as high as expected.
However, polling officials were ready and well set up to receive incoming voters, who trickled in in small numbers to cast their votes.
Ignatius Kangotue, the presiding officer at Otjivanda Secondary School, said they opened well on time.
She said everything was well set up for the voters and no technical glitches or public rowdiness were observed during voting day.
“As you can see, we are ready and have so far received a few voters, but the general turnout is not that high. But from our end, everything went as smoothly as anticipated. It is good to see the young and old coming in to vote. That is very important and encouraging,” he said.
Coralize Luciana Deschanta Ochurus, the presiding officer at the Grootfontein Secondary School, bemoaned the low turnout at her polling station.
She said she was generally satisfied with the decent manner in which the voters carried themselves during the process.
“From the first 15 people we assisted in the morning, one could already see that the voters have an idea of how to vote and what documents are required from them.
“The turnout is low, but people are coming through bit by bit. Maybe it is the cold weather making it difficult for them to come to the polling sites. But overall, I’m happy with the way things are going. It is always good to see people exercising their democratic rights. Voting is one such important right of all Namibians,” Ochurus added.
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