Namibia's Mbumba defends decision to extend elections by 2 days
The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) and the Landless People's Movement (LPM) have launched two separate applicants in the supreme court and the electoral court respectively, in which they contend the president's proclamation was unlawful.
FILE: Namibia President Nangola Mbumba. Picture: @NamPresidency/X
CAPE TOWN - Namibian President Nangola Mbumba has defended his decision to extend last year's presidential and parliamentary election by two days, as the electoral commission of Namibia faces off with two parties who are challenging the way in which the November polls were run.
The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) and the Landless People's Movement (LPM) have launched two separate applicants in the supreme court and the electoral court respectively, in which they contend the president's proclamation was unlawful.
The parties are being represented by two South African counsel, who mostly recently represented the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) in their Constitutional Court challenge over Parliament's Phala Phala report.
Long queues and a shortage of ballot papers led to the extension of Namibia's parliamentary and presidential elections in November by two days but only in some areas traditionally viewed as strongholds of the major party, SWAPO.
In an affidavit filed with the electoral court, Mbumba said that while he initially wanted to extend the voting period across all polling stations, he was advised it was not necessary.
The Independent Patriots for Change whose leader, Panduleni Itula, garnered the second highest number of votes in the presidential election, is crying foul, saying the president behaved unlawfully.
The party is also challenging the outcome of the presidential election in the supreme court, and will be represented by renowned Cape Town advocate, Anton Katz.
Meanwhile, Johannesburg advocate, Kameel Premhid, also known for representing the EFF in political matters, will represent Namibia's Landless People's Movement, which is supporting the IPC's application.
The LPM has also filed its own application in that country’s electoral court, requesting the election extension be declared invalid.
The party said if the votes cast on the two additional days can't be separated from those cast on the main voting day, then the result must also be set aside.
The country's first female president, SWAPO's Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, is set to be sworn in around Independence Day, in March.