Ballot Counting Slowly Under Way In Namibia After Long Delays

Umer Jamshaid Published November 28, 2024 | 06:10 PM

Windhoek, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Nov, 2024) Namibia tallied votes Thursday after technical problems led to long delays on election day, forcing authorities to extend voting in a pivotal poll set to test the ruling party's 34-year grip on power.

Logistical issues on Wednesday, including problems with electronic tablets used to check voters' identities and insufficient ballot papers, left crowds still queueing until the early hours of Thursday in the southern African nation.

Though polls were scheduled to close at 09:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Wednesday, those in line before that time were allowed to stay to cast their ballot, according to Namibia's electoral law.

Armed with folding chairs and umbrellas to cope with the slow-moving lines and blazing sun, Namibians among the 1.5 million registered voters spent hours waiting outside polling stations, some for up to 12 hours.

At the University of Science and Technology in the capital Windhoek, voting stopped at 05:00 am on Thursday, polling officers told AFP.

"It's absolutely disappointing," said Reagan Cooper, a 43-year-old farmer among the hundred or so voters outside the town hall polling station in Windhoek.

"The voters have turned out, but the electoral commission has failed us," Cooper told AFP.

In the face of criticism from political parties and voters over the long queues, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) extended voting hours. ECN spokesman Siluka De Wet told AFP on Thursday morning, "some people were still voting."

Before the delays, initial results were scheduled to be released Saturday.