THURSDAY, 3:30PM:
SWAPO has found itself in a legal row with Namibia’s Electoral Commission — because it has lost the local elections in Rundu by failing to submit its candidates list in time.
Swapo has asked for a court interdict tomorrow (Friday) preventing the Electoral Commission from eliminating the party from the final list of candidates for council elections on December 2. Swapo claims its list of candidates was turned down by the commission.
But the director of elections, Professor Gerhard Totemeyer, is sticking by the rules. “Of course the statement that we refused to accept the list is not true. Swapo did not turn up during the nomination period,” he said.
The Electoral Commission, which is chaired by Judge President Johan Strydom, has already turned down a written request from Swapo asking that the party be allowed late entry to the election.
The Electoral Act stipulates that if a party fails to meet the deadline for registering candidates, the party that submits their list in time should be given automatic victory. As a result, the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) which held two of the seven seats on Rundu Town Council, will now control all seats in the council after the December 2 “vote”.