The Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF), who failed to secure a single seat in last year’s National Assembly and Presidential elections, say they are ready for the upcoming regional and local authority elections slated for November. The NEFF has qualms though with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to be used without paper trails. The Director of Elections, Professor Paul Isaak, was quoted last week saying the upcoming elections would be conducted without a voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT). “We have this doubt about the EVMs without paper trials. I don’t know whether Swapo is the enemy of democracy or what. You cannot force people to use something that is not verifiable and claim to have everything free and fair,” NEFF National Coordinator Kalimbo Iipumbu said on Monday.
“I think somewhere this thing will come to an end and someone must be responsible to answer to these questions. We’re just doing it because it is elections, but using EVMs without paper trails is something that is really questionable,” he added.
Prof Isaak was further quoted as saying the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) does not object to using the voting machines with a paper trail, but there are factors that should be considered.
Full Article: NEFF skeptical over electronic voting machines | New Era Newspaper Namibia.