Namibia’s main opposition leader said Friday that elections under way were marred by irregularities but the country needed to see them through before deciding on the next steps.Panduleni Itula, presidential candidate of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), said that parties in opposition to the ruling SWAPO were in talks to find a common stance after the days of vote confusion.”Regrettably, there has been a multitude of irregularities,” said Itula, considered the strongest challenger to the ruling SWAPO party that has been in power for 34 years.Around 1.5 million people were registered to vote in Wednesday’s presidential and legislative vote but logistical and technical failures led to hours-long queues that some voters eventually abandoned.Amid mounting opposition anger and claims that voters were being deliberately discouraged from casting their ballots, the election authority extended voting until Saturday.Namibia had been “betrayed” by the incompetence of the electoral authority, said Itula, a former dentist and lawyer.However, “There is no other alternative than for the citizens to carry out what is proposed by the Electoral Commission of Namibia to its conclusion,” he said at a press conference.Asked about the possibility of protest marches to demand a re-run of the vote, Itula said: “I know for a lot of people, especially the young people, the adrenaline is pumping… to seek a remedy by this means. And I think that we got to be very, very cautious.””We shall inform the public as to what appropriate actions within the confinements of our laws is appropriate, and how quickly we will be able to do that.”He called for calm and for people to also “stand firm to ensure that we shall not be robbed neither denied our democratic right to choose our leaders.”
