ECN receives one objection for its shortlisted candidates

WINDHOEK, 18 JUN  – One objection was submitted to the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) against the appointment of five candidates shortlisted for the position of Chief Electoral Officer.
The objection was submitted by the Citizens for an Accountable and Transparent Society (CATS), as per the Electoral Act of 2014 by registered voters.
The shortlisted candidates are Moses Ndjarakana, Theo Mujoro, Franco Cosmos, Amon Haimbangu and Helmuth Naweseb.
In an interview process on Monday, which convened with a presentation on public objections received by the ECN, CATS Spokesperson, Carola Engelbrecht objected to all five candidates, questioning their credibility for the position.
She objected to the appointment of Ndjarakana for the position, citing concerns over a judgement made by Judge President Petrus Damaseb in 2011 in the High Court in respect of an election application which was brought by nine political parties regarding the 2009 elections.
Ndjarakana was the head of the ECN at the time.
She explained that Ndjarakana did not get off untouched and was not cleared and that he could be found guilty of perjury.
“The court punished the ECN with its Director of Elections at the time having been none other than Mr Ndjarakana, by denying the ECN the costs of opposing the application,” she stated.
She further questioned whether Mujoro was capable of turning public perceptions around to a positive, transparent and professional ECN, adding that the trust and confidence in the integrity of the institution have not completely been put to rest.
She told the panel that Mujoro had not profiled himself as an “independently thinking leader”.
“He has thus come far across as uncertain what he may say or how he should conduct himself as if afraid that someone may punish him,” she said.
After a brief deliberation, ECN Chairperson, Notemba Tjipueja said the panel dismissed the objections presented by Engelbrecht without elaborating on why they were dismissed.
In the case of Cosmos, Haimbangu and Naweseb, Engelbrecht only questioned whether they fulfilled the requirements of the criteria for the position and what experience they had to make them eligible for the vacancy.
The interviews for the five candidates officially commenced at 13h30.

NAMPA