The Namibia Non Governmental Organisations Forum (NANGOF) Trust, umbrella body of civil society organisations in Namibia welcomes the recent ruling of the High Court in which the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), a member of NANGOF Trust, won the case in which it had challenged the unfair and unlawful withdrawal of its accreditation as observer a few days before the polls.

NANGOF Trust empathises with the National Society for Human Rights with the understanding that whilst the case has been won in their favour, inconveniences nevertheless have been caused with regards to logistics and timely deployment of observers. We therefore appeal to the Electoral commission of Namibia to expedite information dissemination to all polling stations so that NSHR may have access without hindrance.

The ruling by the Namibia High Court instils confidence about the rule of the law in the country, as well as the independence of the Judiciary as an autonomous arm of the state. As civil society, we believe that our partnership in development, apart from service delivery done by some of our members, is in advocacy as well as being the watchdog, a role that is crucial for checks and balances in governance.

For more information contact

Ronny Dempers
(Chairperson of NANGOF Trust) on 081 1270548