The Independent Patriots for Change has notified the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) that the party would seek legal recourse to extend the voting period in light of ballot paper shortages and the malfunctioning of verification machines.

Voting in Namibia have been marred by chaos in most cases, as polling stations run out of ballot papers.

According to critics this is identical to what happened in Zimbabwe during the 2023 harmonised elections.

In Zimbabwe, most polling stations in opposition strongholds especially urban areas ran out of ballot papers.

The same is now happening in Namibia.

New ballot papers finally arrived at about 22h30 at Finkenstein after voters waited for more than five hours. “I hope there are enough, it looked very little,” a frustrated voter told The Namibian newspaper.

Apparently, chaos erupted at Walvis Bay International Airport on Wednesday, as frustrated voters almost broke the entrance of the polling station.

ECN has issued a directive that polling stations should be kept open after 21h00 due to numerous reports of ballot paper shortages and verification machine malfunctions.

The Namibian