Voter breaks EVM in Khorixas

DAMAGED ... The broken Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) ballot unit that allegedly fell from the lap of a wheelchair-bound voter during the Regional Council and Local Authority elections underway at the Eddie Bowe Primary School hall in here on Friday. Photo: Nampa 

A voter allegedly broke an electronic voting machine (EVM) during the Regional Council and Local Authority elections underway in Khorixas on Friday.
Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) Presiding Officer for the Khorixas Constituency, Jacqueline Amamus told members of the media the woman, who uses a wheelchair, was assisted by an ECN official to cast her vote and during that process she accidentally dropped the EVM.
“The voter placed the EVM on her lap and it accidentally fell and broke,” she explained.
“Immediately” after the incident according to Amamus, ECN officials called the party agents to witness what had happened.
“After the party agents witnessed the incident, they called me. When I arrived at the Eddie Bowe Primary School Hall polling station, I saw that the ballot unit was cracked open. Together with the party agents, ECN officials pressed the total button to record the last total before replacing the unit. When we got the spare ballot unit from the Khorixas Police Station, we verified the ballot unit, and entered the recorded total figure.”
Amamus said the election process resumed shortly after the unit was replaced.
About 7 977 registered voters are expected to hit the polls on Friday from 07h00 to 21h00 and elect who they would like to be in charge of development projects in their region and constituency.
Voter turnout experienced at the eight fixed polling stations has been low so far. There are 15 teams of mobile polling stations ensuring that every person can practice their right to vote.
-Nampa