OCTOBERNOVEMBER 2014 2015 Briefing Paper No. 12 By Nangula Shejavali ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES REGIONAL GOVERNORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY DO THE BENEFITS OF APPOINTMENT BY THE PRESIDENT OUTWEIGH THE LOSS OF DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATION? word processing and spreadsheets to more sophisticated INTRODUCTION data processing tools, such as data base management sys- tems, optical scanning and geographic information systems.”1 At the end of November 2014 Namibia is set to become the first African country to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) in a national election. The Electoral Commission of Namibia is no exception to this ongoing trend, and in its prepa- Namibia’s decision to use EVMs dates back to 2004. Since ration for the 2014 National Assembly and Presidential Elec- then several batches of EVMs have been bought from the tions, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has in- Indian company Bharat Technologies. Since Namibia first troduced or made use of various technologies. For one, the decided to buy EVMs, concerns have been raised about the ECN in 2013 launched it use of a Biometric system to ensure need for the machines to have a Voter Verified Paper Audit easier registration of voters. In this regard, 904 machines – Trail (VVPAT). In October 2013, the Indian Supreme Court “which were manufactured in South Africa, have components ruled that a VVPAT was “an indispensable requirement of such as a laptop notebook, a fingerprint scanner, a camera, free and fair elections” as it “ensures the accuracy of the a signature pad and a barcode scanner to ensure that cor- voting system”. When drafting the new Electoral Bill, the rect details of voters are recorded to prevent duplication”2 Law Reform and Development Commission (LRDC) recog- – were purchased to register eligible voters for the upcoming nised the VVPAT standard. However, the EVMs purchased elections. In addition to the Biometric Machines, the ECN has by the ECN do not have the option of printing a slip that also introduced the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), each voter can verify as correct. In order to avoid confu- which have already been used in a by-election and two local sion and minimise the possibility of disputes over EVMs, authority elections this year (Ohangwena – 5 August 2014, Bu- it is important that the ECN consult with all stakeholders, kalo – 22 August 2014, and Otjinene – 29 August 2014). principally the political parties registered for the election, to ensure they have confidence in the system being used. The Electoral Knowledge Network cautions that although In addition, it is crucial that a comprehensive, mass voter “these technologies open up new frontiers and offer new education programme is rolled out to ensure that prospec- possibilities for the electoral process, especially for voting tive voters know how to use EVMs and have confidence in operations, there may be unforeseen risks involved, such their reliability. as an increase in vote selling or difficulty in auditing election results. Careful consideration also needs to be given to the risks of inappropriate or untimely introduction of technology, The use of technology in elections is not new. According to especially if it has the potential to compromise transparency, the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, “these technologies local ownership or sustainability of the electoral process.”3 range from the use of basic office automation tools such as 1 ACE – The Electoral Knowledge Network, 2014. Elections and Technology. Retrieved from http://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/et on 23.08.2014. 2 Kahiurika, N., 2013. ECN Launches the Biometric Machine. The Namibian, 18 December 2013. Retrieved from http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx. php?archive_id=117802&page_type=archive_story_detail&page=365 on 23 August 2014. 3 ACE, 2014. ElectionElection Watch Watch features features electoral electoral analysis analysis and and voter voter education education ahead ahead of of thethe 20142015 NationalRegional Assembly Council and and Presidential Local Authority Elections. ElectionsElection Watch. Election is Watcha project is a ofproject the Institute of the Institute for Public for Policy Public Research Policy Research (IPPR). It (IPPR). is produced It is produced with the with support the support of the European of the European Union. TheUnion. content The content of Election of Election Watch Watchis theis the sole sole responsibility responsibility of theof the IPPR. IPPR. CommentsComments and and feedback feedback should should be be sent sent to to the the IPPR, IPPR, PO PO Box Box 6566, 6566, Windhoek, Windhoek, Namibia. Namibia. Tel:Tel: (061) (061) 240514; 240514; fax: fax: (061) (061) 240516; 240516; email: email: [email protected]. [email protected]. For For more more on on Election Election Watch Watch check check http://www.electionwatch.org.na http://www.electionwatch.org.na FollowFollow us uson on Facebook Facebook - facebook.com/electionwatchnamibia - facebook.com/electionwatchnamibia Election Watch OCTOBER 2015 On April 2nd, 2015, President Hage Geingob appointed Re- This briefing paper examines the controversial Special Ad- gional Governors to Namibia’s 14 Regions. This is the second visors and Regional Governors Appointment Amendment set of Governors to be appointed by a President. Five years Act (Act 15 of 2010), which legislates for the appointment of ago, the Namibian parliament passed legislation that allowed Governors by the President. The Second Regional Councils for the appointment of Regional Governors by the President Amendment Act (Act 16 of 2010), which separates the powers – effectively doing away with their election to this office. The of the Governors from those of the Chairperson of the Council change in legislation caused quite a stir on Namibia’s politi- (previously seen as one role), is also briefly reviewed. Togeth- cal landscape, with the newly appointed officials being likened er, these two Acts (along with the Namibian Constitution Sec- to Bantu/Native Commissioners by critics such as Professor ond Amendment Act which, amongst others, aligns the tenure Joseph Diescho1, and claims being made of Namibians being period of National Council members with those of the National stripped of their democratic right to elect regional representa- Assembly), have changed the face of regional governance. tives. Arguments for the new legislation, which were gazetted This paper attempts to provide a holistic discussion of their into law just days before the 2010 regional elections, centred implications, appraising the arguments that were presented mainly on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Re- for and against the appointment of Regional Governors by the gional Governors and creating a ‘direct line’ between regional President, particularly in the context of democracy building and and national leadership. Calls for doing away with the appoint- decentralisation. These include the justifications brought for- ment of Regional Governors, and having them elected into of- ward by President Hage Geingob (who was Swapo Party Vice fice instead, have continued ever since. President and Minister of Trade and Industry at the time of the changes in legislation), who argued that the Act would essen- In his book, Strengthening the Interaction between Civil Soci- tially quell “divisive forces” trying to disrupt Namibia’s “unitary ety and Regional and Local Government in Namibia, for exam- state”, and the equally controversial argument by some acad- ple, Professor Gerhard Totemeyer argues that the policy to ap- emicians who have compared the appointments to a return of point governors “can be considered a set-back to democratic Bantu/Native Commissioners of the apartheid era. practices and as contradictory to the decentralisation policy”. He goes on to say that this change is “tantamount to the re- In addition to these highly publicised lines of reasoning, this jection of the principle of free elections and to co-decision at paper weighs the merits and demerits of a number of other regional level of who the governor of a region should be. The cases made either for or against the Act. new policy reflects deconcentration of authority”.2 Totemeyer (and several others) note that the appointment of regional gov- Finally, in light of the recent appointment of Governors, this ernors ‘harms the substance and quality of the decentralisation paper assesses whether or not the changes in legislation have policy’, negatively impacts the independence of regional coun- improved regional governance and worked in the favour of the cils, has the potential to threaten already ‘precarious’ relations Namibian people at large in the past five years. It also pro- between regional councils and traditional authorities, and pre- vides recommendations on what needs to be done to improve sents the question of who really runs the regions (i.e. regional their effectiveness and ensure the reform that is desperately councils or the governor)3. needed in regional governance. There is no doubt that at the time of the legislative changes, What changes were made in the 2010 Acts? the Regional Councils were in dire need of some reform. This is acknowledged by many, and discussed in more detail in When he tabled the Special Advisors and Regional Governors the content of this paper. The roles and responsibilities of Re- Appointment Amendment Bill in parliament in early October gional Governors required re-assessment and reorientation. 2010, the then Regional and Local Government, Housing and There was an argument