WINDHOEK – The ruling in the legal battle over the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) without verifiable paper trails and the results of the November 2019 presidential election, will be made public in the Supreme Court early next month.

Chief Justice Peter Shivute, after having listened to arguments and counter-arguments by lawyers representing the two parties in the matter, said the Supreme Court will deliver judgement on 06 February 2020.

In the matter, five candidates who contested the presidential election – independent candidate, Dr Panduleni Itula; Henk Mudge of the Republican Party; Epafras Mukwiilongo of the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters; Ignatius Shixwameni of All People’s Party; and Mike Kavekotora of the Rally for Democracy and Progress – are claiming in their papers before the Supreme Court that the presidential election was allegedly rigged in the favour of Swapo’s Hage Geingob.

The five applicants, in their court papers, also included a 126-page affidavit and annexures in which they outlined why the results of the presidential election should be nullified and a re-run be organised as soon as possible.

The applicants want the Supreme Court to issue an order declaring that the presidential election is null and void and also for the court to overturn the final results ‘on the grounds of irregularities in connection with the use of the EVMs’.

Chief Justice Shivute heard the case alongside judges Sylvester Mainga, Elton Hoff, Dave Smuts and Baiitse Nkabinde.

South African senior counsel Jeremy Gauntlett represented the five applicants.

William Mokhari, also a South African senior counsel, appeared for the Electoral Commission of Namibia and the Namibian government.

– Nampa