ECN Mistakenly Awards IPC a Rundu Council Seat Meant for RUCA
By TUW
The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) was mistakenly allocated a seat in the Rundu Local Authority Council, a position that should have rightfully gone to the Rundu Urban Community Association (RUCA), prompting the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) to file an urgent self-review application with the Electoral Court.
In a statement, the ECN explained that the error occurred when the returning officer incorrectly assigned the final council seat to IPC during the announcement of results on 29 November. A recalculation using the droop quota, applied to the 12,284 votes cast in Rundu, later revealed the mistake.
Under the correct allocation, SWAPO secured four seats, while the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) Movement each obtained one seat. RUCA, which received 674 votes — surpassing IPC’s 642 should have rightfully claimed the final spot. However, the miscalculation led to the incorrect declaration.
The Commission met with all affected parties on Tuesday to communicate the error and outline its legal steps. ECN Chief Electoral Officer Nasu Shaama said the application to the Electoral Court was necessary because the Commission is now functus officio and cannot amend the results on its own. Shaama added that the move demonstrates the ECN’s commitment to transparency and ensuring that the final outcome reflects the true will of the Rundu electorate.
