The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) in Namibia has joined other opposition parties in demanding for an update to be added to their Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). This request comes ahead of the country’s general elections scheduled for November this year.
Namibia made history in 2014 as the first African country to use the EVM during its general elections that year. Coupled with the Voter Registration Kit (VRK), the EVM is an advanced biometric information system that releases ID-like voter cards, with security features that capture each voter’s data including their fingerprints and photograph.
However, following the highly publicised December polls in the Democratic Republic of Congo, many in Namibia have suggested that the machines should be updated to include the Verifiable Voter Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), which was used in the elections last year.
The opposition parties in Namibia have stressed their unhappiness with the current machines, claiming they are unreliable as they are unable to provide instantly verifiable paper trails.
The VVPAT enables voters to detect and prevent election fraud and helps them verify that their votes were cast correctly, using an independent verification system.
Following the success of the new technology in the DRC, opposition leaders in Namibia have called for the VVPAT to be added to the current EVMs in a bid to ensure transparency at the polls and prevent result manipulation.
On the other hand, the Chief Officer of the Namibian Electoral Commission, Theo Mujuro has stated that the EVMs served Namibia well in the past without cases of election fraud. He then called on opposition parties to state the exact problem they have with the voting machines.
“Can they illustrate to everybody the issues they have about EVMs? We are prepared to make available the EVMs to anybody in the public setting, so they can prove these theories around possible programming of machines that they can be reconfigured to favour or prejudice a particular candidate or political party,” he reportedly said.
Noting that the Commission had made substantial investments in the technology valued at about R100 million, Mujuro expressed confidence in the machines, stating that the Commission was positive that it would perform better during the November polls than it did in 2014.
Denying allegations that the Commission was saddled with financial constraints, Mujuro also explained that while the VVPAT technology costs about R160 million, the EVMs were more convenient and readily available.
While stating that the VVPAT technology could be used in future elections, the Head of the Commission noted that time is a major factor at the moment and it is too late to include it in the polls this year.
