Namibia: Voters are still allowed to queue hours after the official closing time

On By Pranco

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has confirmed that voters will still be allowed to queue at polling stations in the Erongo Region, hours after the official closing time at 9pm.

This comes as a surprise to many, with social media buzzing about the extension.

Erongo ECN election official Aune Ndakeva clarified the situation, stating that polling stations would remain open as long as queues persisted.

“In the beginning, everyone was enthusiastic and optimistic. There were many people at all stations. The turnout was impressive,” Ndakeva noted, adding that the large number of voters led to long queues, which many found frustrating.

Although most polling stations in Erongo opened on time, some experienced minor delays of around five minutes.

Ndakeva stressed that technical problems with verification equipment caused a short downtime of about ten minutes, which led to frustration among voters.

“But other than that it was pretty okay,” she noted.

Mobile polling stations also faced logistical hurdles.

Ndakeva explained that delays occurred because mobile teams were overwhelmed by unexpected numbers of voters from outside their target area.

“We planned to stay for two hours at some locations, but we ended up staying for five hours because we couldn’t let people wait in line without help,” she said.