OPUWO: The recurring drought which has ravaged livestock and crippled livelihoods in the Kunene region is now impeding the voter registration process in some sections of the region as farmers are forced to relocate in quest of greener pastures.
According to Mike Nganjone, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) regional elections officer in Kunene, drought is also posing unprecedented hurdles to the voter registration procedure, with a large number of farmers unable to register for the presidential and national assembly elections set for 27 November 2024.
‘As we know the region is still reeling in drought and most of the people here are farmers. They are nomadic so most of the time they move around in search of grazing for their animals,’ he said in a recent interview with Nampa.
The movement of farmers in Sesfontein, Epupa, and Opuwo Rural necessitates the deployment of a team to mobilise people, inform them of the registration dates, and advise them not to leave the area until they are registered.
‘In
most cases, we first send out a team to mobilise people, inform them of the registration date, and just caution them not to leave the area before they are registered,’ he noted.
Kunene is one of the country’s vastest regions, thus rendering it difficult for ECN to reach specific parts of it by road or vehicle, a challenge that has necessitated the use of a helicopter to ferry ECN officials to difficult-to-reach locations.
According to Nganjone, the team left for the hard-to-reach areas on 12 June and will return to Opuwo on 26 July to attend to voters in the villages of Skeleton Coast Safaris, Sierra Cafema, Otjavaja, Okakora, Otjomumborombonga, Otjiheke Tjangututu, Onjezu, Ehekeratjitindi, Otjahawe, Oroviheke, and Orokaue.
Among other obstacles, Nganjone highlighted that certain individuals arrive with erroneous documents, such as old voter cards, believing that they will be able to obtain new ones by using the old ones.
He said the region has 31 teams separated into two zones: Kunene North, which compri
ses Opuwo Urban, Opuwo Rural, Epupa, and Sesfontein, and Kunene South, which includes Kamanjab, Khorixas and Outjo, with a total of 104 registration officers.
Despite the multiple hurdles, Nganjone stated that voter registration is faring well, with over 20,000 persons registered since 03 June 2024 in the region.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency