Namibia's electoral body said Wednesday it had awarded the contract to print ballot papers for the country's forthcoming general elections to a South African company, REN-FORM.

The contract for the printing of the ballots for the 27 November presidential and parliamentary elections attracted controversy after it was initially awarded to Namprint, a company owned by the ruling Swapo party.

Opposition parties joined ranks and threatened legal action against the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), with some even threatening to boycott the elections, arguing that awarding the contract to a Swapo-owned company would result in the ruling party rigging the polls.

ECN said after evaluating 12 shortlisted bids in the re-advertised tender, it awarded the contract to REN-FORM, a South African firm with black economic empowerment credentials.

Opposition parties had by Wednesday afternoon not offered any objections to the latest development.

'The company (REN-FORM) will deliver in accordance with what we have indicated, that is within the time-frame and will adhere to the specifications as to how the ballot papers will look like and in terms of delivering,' said ECN director Victor Tonchi.

ECN said the ballot boxes must be delivered 30 October.

REN-FORM had the lowest bid among the 12 applications.

REN-FORM claims on its website that it printed 21 million ballot papers for South Africa in 2004.

The company also said it printed voters' registration forms for Nigeria, Botswana and Mozambique, adding that it also printed 10 million ballots for the 2005 Uganda referendum and 22 million ballots for the presidential and parliamentary elections held in the same country in 2006.

Pana