NAMIBIA: Opposition wins first round in election court battle

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

WINDHOEK, 16 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - Two opposition parties challenging the veracity of Namibia's national and presidential polls were on Thursday granted a High Court order to peruse official election documentation in order to substantiate their case.

The court ordered the Electoral Commission to make available to the Congress of Democrats (CoD) and the Republican Party (RP) election reports of returning officers for each of the 1,168 polling stations and all of the 107 constituencies.

In addition, the Electoral Commission must make available the lists containing the serial numbers of ballot papers used in all polling stations and the written statements and announcements of each returning officer. The commission was also ordered to pay court costs.

Judge Elton Hoff said he would give the reasons for his ruling next Monday.

The two opposition parties welcomed the court's order.

"We now have a lot of work to do, sifting through the documents that have to be made available to us so that our lawyers can go ahead with the next step," said Nora Schimming-Chase vice-president of the CoD.

She added that the parties could file another application to the court on Monday, but this would depend on what information was revealed in the documents the commission has been ordered to provide.

The chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Victor Tonchi said, "We will now consult with our lawyers [regarding] what the next step will be."

[ENDS]