ECN mobile team lost in Okakarara, EVM stolen in Kavango East

Notemba Tjipueja

An Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) mobile team got lost on their way to serving nine points in the Okakarara Constituency in the Otjozondjupa Region Friday morning.
ECN Chairperson, Notemba Tjipueja announced this at a media briefing here on Friday while updating the public on the commencement of the 2015 Regional Council and Local Authority Elections.
Tjipueja noted that this team delayed the start of voting at the nine polling stations, as they only started operating around noon on Friday.
She indicated that the ECN managed to put together a relief team that would service the polling stations that were missed in the morning.
A total of 89 165 voters are registered by the ECN in the Otjozondjupa Region, and there are 52 fixed polling stations and 126 mobile teams.
In the Kavango East region, Tjipueja reported that one of the ECN vehicles had been broken into and that the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was stolen.
However, she said, the EVM reported to be stolen was not one of the EVMs to be used for the elections, but was assigned for voter education.
“This matter has been reported to the police in that region and investigations are underway,” she said.
Namibia is Friday using the EVMs for the second time after the machines were used for the first time in 2014 during the National Assembly and Presidential Elections; setting a standard as the first country in Africa to do so.
-Nampa