Cablegate: Namibians Await Election Results

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PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHWD #0436 3341611
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301611Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY WINDHOEK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0885
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RHMFISS/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS WINDHOEK 000436

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM WA
SUBJECT: NAMIBIANS AWAIT ELECTION RESULTS

REF: A. WINDHOEK 433
B. WINDHOEK 377

1. Namibia held its fourth post-independence general
elections on November 27 and 28. Fourteen political parties
contested 72 National Assembly seats, and a record 12
candidates contested the presidency. After two 14-hour days
of voting followed by marathon sessions to count and verify
ballots, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has
released results from only four of Namibia's 107
constituencies. According to observers from the Southern
African Development Community (SADC), who issued a
preliminary statement on November 30, the polls were
"transparent, credible, peaceful, free and fair." Embassy
Windhoek coordinated with European diplomatic missions to
send 35 election observers around the country. Despite minor
procedural inconsistencies and irregularities and some cases
of possible voter intimidation, the groups determined the
elections to be free, fair and transparent. There were no
incidents of election-related violence, as had been
anticipated (ref A).

2. There are no official figures available yet on voter
turnout. Queues were long on November 27, with some
Namibians waiting five hours to cast their votes. Lines at
most polling stations were considerably shorter on November
28, which left many to speculate that the country's
controversial two-day voting process could be reduced to one
day.

3. The ECN, which was heavily criticized during the
pre-election phase for bungling registration procedures and
the voters roll (ref B), was again the target of frustration
during the voting. On November 28 and 29, several opposition
parties, including the Rally for Democracy and Progress
(RDP), held press conferences to condemn instances in which
the indelible and invisible ink applied to voters' fingers
had washed off. They also complained that party
representatives were not allowed to spend the night in
polling stations with the ballot boxes-- a practice permitted
in most constituencies.

4. On November 30, party representatives and election
observers, emerged exhausted from polling stations. Some had
spent more than 48 hours voluntarily locked inside polling
centers, while ECN staff members counted ballots. The slow
pace mostly appears to be attributed to a complicated
accounting process, which required separate handling for
tendered votes, i.e., ballots cast outside of a voter's home
constituency. In addition, ECN officials took pains to
comply with the new Electoral Amendment Act. Passed in
August, the legislation required that ballots be counted at
polling stations "immediately" after the polls closed with
the results then posted outside the polling station.

5. The delay in announcing official results has led some to
speculate that the votes are being recounted or manipulated,
although there is no evidence to suggest this. Unofficial
results have circulated by email and instant message, and
these early statistics show-- not surprisingly-- a strong
performance by the ruling South West African People's
Organization (SWAPO) party and its presidential candidate,
President Hifikepunye Pohamba. The RDP, which was favored to
place second, appears to have siphoned significant support
away from the other opposition parties. Official results are
expected later in the week, and the winners of both races
will be sworn in on March 21.
MATHIEU

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