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28th November 2009, 06:15 PM #1 
ECN suspends NSHR again
ElectionWatch - The ECN just held a press conference at which it was announced that the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) had been suspended again as official observers for this election. On Friday the NSHR won a court interdict to have its observer status reinstated.
The ECN has been delivering ballot boxes to polling stations in Windhoek as the original ballot boxes that they started with on Friday are getting full. Some in Katutura were still waiting for new ballot boxes early on Saturday afternoon, although voting was continuing using the original boxes which were tightly packed with ballot papers that had been cast.
At several polling stations in Samora Machel and Tobias Hainyeko tendered votes outnumbered ordinary votes. Full ballot boxes are stored at the polling stations, in sight of the polling staff, observers and party agents, and with ECN seals and party seals attached. All looks in order.
The mobile polling station at Mix Settlement, 15 km, north of Windhoek remained open "until after midnight" on Friday, according to the presiding officer, as there were so many in the queue at the official closing time of 21h00.
It will be interesting to see if this is repeated at other polling stations tonight because of a last minute rush. According to the ECN, only those standing in the queue by 21h00 have the right to enter the polling station and vote. A police officer should stand at the point where the last person came before 21h00 and send latecomers away.
There are mixed reports about what happens at mobile stations when polling closes. Some ECN staff said they would count at the point where the mobile station was last set up (which is what the law appears to say), other said they would go to the nearest fixed polling station; others said they were awaiting instructions from their returning officer.
Director of Elections Moses Ndjarakana confirmed at this afternoon's press conference that the computers that are being used to check voters off on the voters register at many (but not all) polling stations are not interlinked.
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29th November 2009, 04:10 AM #2 Re: ECN suspends NSHR again
WINDHOEK - The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has again suspended the observer status of a human rights watchdog it accuses of lying about mistakes on the voter’s roll.
Earlier this week the ECN stripped the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) of this status because it had pointed out mistakes in the voter’s roll, which the ECN maintains are ‘lies’. Mistakes found included instances of: double registration; the registration of voters after the official cut-off date; names being incorrectly struck off; and the registration of voters younger than 18 years.
But on Friday a court ruled that the NSHR had to be admitted as an election observer. The court ruled that the ECN unlawfully withdrew the watchdog’s observer status without conducting a proper hearing. The NSHR’s status was reinstated. But only temporarily.
"The NSHR continues not to comply with the guidelines for election observers, so we decided to suspend them today. Under the Electoral Act this is a different measure than withdrawing accreditation," ECN chairman Victor Tonchi tells IPS.
"The reasons for our decision haven’t changed; they are the same as before," says Tonchi. The ECN also accuses the organisation’s director Phil ya Nangoloh of discrediting the electoral body abroad.
IPS
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