Swapo Chief Whip in the National Assembly, Hamunyera Hambyuka, moved a motion without notice urging for consideration and approval of Gerson Tjihenuna and Pius Iikwambi as members of the Electoral Commission of Namibia, nominated by the President under Section 6 of the Electoral Act for a five-year term.
The motion seeks to ensure fairness, impartiality, and transparency in election processes.
Hambyuka emphasised the importance of approving the nominated members, highlighting their relevant experience outlined in their curriculum vitae.
“With the approval of the president and the approval of the National Assembly, the terms of office of the two commissioners, namely Gerson Tjehuna and Pius Iikwambi, are expected to expire on the 15th of March, which will create two vacancies on the commission.”
LPM’s Bernadus Swartbooi opposed Gerson Tjihenuna’s appointment due to what he termed corruption allegations in past electoral processes, particularly about the use of EVMs.
“The court had to then go back and retrospectively validate all the decisions of the government of the Republic of Namibia to prevent any challenges that would say that any decisions that were taken by the executive were invalid initially. That is what the court did. So they were in charge of that process that the court found to have used instruments that were not supposed to be used. They were managing this process.”
Other members of parliament made their contributions to the proposed motion.
Elma Dienda of the Popular Democratic Movement raised concern about the President appointing commissioners, saying, “I think it is high time that we amend our constitution because I feel that the President, who is also contesting for elections, cannot appoint commissioners who are supposed to be independent.”
Also contributing to the debate was Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila. “If this house, being an oversight authority over the ECN, is of the view that the commission has at any time failed to live up to its responsibilities, we are obligated under the law to provide oversight. We cannot wait for a court to make a ruling on something else that is not directly related to the conduct of an individual and try to use it as a disqualification.
Deputy Minister of Gender Equality Bernadette Jagger had this to say: “Based on the vast experience they both have indicated in their CVs. These are experienced in the supervisory roles they had in the different institutions they served, experienced management, and, of course, the roles they played in policy analysis, legal affairs, and legal consultations.”
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