IMAGE: Namibian political party representatives inspecting printed ballot papers at Ren-Form CC’s Johannesburg facility in late October 2024. (Electoral Commission of Namibia)
The printing of ballot papers has once again become a politically explosive issue, but this time the stakes could be much higher. Following is a brief overview of what unfolded in October 2024
The printing of ballot papers for Namibian elections has always proven to be a matter fraught with controversy and political tensions. True to form, the procurement of a service provider to produce and print the ballot papers for the 27 November 2024 parliamentary and presidential elections has once again unleashed a dispute that has refused to die down and cast suspicions over the integrity of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) and the upcoming elections.
Here’s what happened:
10 September 2024 – The Open International Bidding (OIB) process starts for the design, printing, supply and delivery of ballot papers to the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN). The deadline for submission of bids is 9 October 2024.
7 October 2024 – The ECN decides and announces the cancellation of the OIB process (reference no. NCS/OIB/28-01/2024/25), just two days before the 9 October deadline. The ECN does not explain why the OIB was canceled, merely stating that it was done “in the the best interest of electoral democracy and public interest to avert the risk of the late delivery of the ballot papers”.
17 October 2024 – The ECN announces that a Johannesburg, South Africa, based printing firm, Ren-Form CC, has emerged as the preferred contractor to produce, print and deliver the ballot papers. The ECN also announces that the contractor was sourced using the emergency procurement method, which allows for direct procurement from a specific service provider. Almost immediately a storm erupts when it emerges that the firm has been implicated in irregular and unlawful activities around the supply and delivery of a range of materials to the Zimbabwean electoral management body ahead of that country’s elections in 2023.
18 October 2024 – The ECN issues a statement denying any wrong-doing in the award of the ballot printing contract to Ren-Form CC, stating that the company “boasts a solid track record of printing ballot papers for over 70 elections on the continent in the past 20 years”. The ECN denial of wrong-ding and corruption, follows letters and statements issued by the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), and the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) condemning the contracting of Ren-Form CC.
20 October 2024 – A delegation of representatives of 18 political parties and ECN commissioners and staff departed for Johannesburg, South Africa, to go observe the production and printing of the ballot papers by Ren-Form CC. Three political parties – the PDM, the Christian Democratic Voice (CDV) and Republican Party of Namibia (RP) do not send representatives.
21 October 2024 – In a statement issued on 24 October the ECN announced that all 21 political parties had signed off on the design of the ballot papers on 21 and 22 October.
22 October 2024 – The lawyers of Ren-Form CC issue a statement distancing the firm from any allegations of wrongdoing with regard to the Zimbabwean elections of 2023 and threatening legal action over claims that it had acted corruptly. That same day more than 100 members of the PDM marched to the ECN head office in Windhoek to protest the Ren-Form CC contract, even as the party signed off on the ballot papers that day.
29 October 2024 – The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) launches its 26th Procurement Tracker Namibia, which raises critical questions about the procurement process for the ballot papers. Later the same day the ECN announced that the ballot papers and accompanying delegation would be arriving in the country the next day.
30 October 2024 – The ballot papers and observer delegation arrive in the country via the Hosea Kutako International Airport. During a media briefing at the airport, the ECN’s Chief Electoral and Referenda Officer, Peter Shaama, once again attempts to dispel the concerns around the nature of the procurement process that saw Ren-Form CC chosen as the contractor, but he still does not answers critical questions about the decision-making and evaluation processes that saw the Johannesburg firm being contracted. At the same event, representatives of political parties complained (here and here) of having been denied the opportunity to meaningfully observe the production and printing of the ballot papers at Ren-Form CC’s Johannesburg printing facility.
The fact that to date there has not been full transparency from the ECN about how the emergency situation had arisen that necessitated the cancellation of the OIB process, or what specifically informed the decision to contract Ren-Form CC, has cast dark clouds of suspicion over the integrity of the upcoming elections.