27 November 2009

Windhoek — Polling stations around the country are ready for today and tomorrow's presidential and National Assembly elections. Yesterday, the polling station at

ONE of Namibia's biggest logistical operations gets into full swing this morning when over one million voters are expected to stream to polling stations to elect the country's President and National Assembly members.

"It's all systems go. The hour has arrived and we are ready," said Rukee Tjingaete, spokesperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia.

"Come rain or shine", 3 259 polling stations are expected to open their doors at 07h00 to this morning. Of the above, 997 polling stations are fixed and the remainder will move around.

"The country is just too big. Some of the farms, especially commercial farms, have less than 10 voters but we must cover every vote," Tjingaete said.

About 10 800 polling officers have been divided into 1 553 teams which include a driver and a Police officer.

He said helicopters and four-wheel-drive vehicles had been put on standby in case of rain in remote regions such as Kunene, Kavango and the Caprivi.

While the key areas for this election will be the most populous regions such as Ohangwena (over 126 000 registered voters), Omusati (114 600 voters), Oshikoto (93 600 voters) and Oshana (104 000 voters), tough battles are expected in the Kavango (118 800), Caprivi (34 000), Otjozondjupa (82 700), Omaheke (44 000) and Kunene (47 000) regions.

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