In another first for Namibia, leading mobile operator MTC has on Friday announced support to the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) by availing its technological platforms to assist many Namibians, especially first time voters, to register and vote in the forthcoming Presidential and National Assembly elections. The elections are set for 27 and 28 November 2009.
Weeks of engagement between MTC and the ECN as well as continuous testing have finally culminated in the launch of the innovative SMS platform which enables voters to know whether they are registered to vote.
MTC's General Manager for Corporate Affairs, Albertus Aochamub, said the mobile operator's decision to lend support is in response to a call by the ECN to all the corporate entities to assist and ensure the elections process, including voter education, supplementary registration and actual casting of ballots, is smooth.
“We hope that by availing our technology, this gesture will empower the ECN to carry out its mandate without fail and by so doing also live up to our responsibility as a company that works in the interest of Namibia and Namibians,” said Aochamub.
By simply sending their Voter Registration Number (VRN) to 8683 (VOTE), eligible voters will be told if they have registered or not.
Aochamub added that as an extension of its support to the ECN, MTC will also send out a text message to its customer base to remind potential voters that 30 September 2009 deadline for voter registration and that they should go and register. Simultaneously, leaders of political parties will also receive text messages to encourage their constituencies to register to vote.
The ECN's Director, Moses Ndjarakana, said: “It is a very significant cooperation drive in this huge national undertaking and their support will go a long way in accelerating activities during the electoral process, especially the processes that relate to the transmission of results from Returning Officers at constituency officers to the Director at the Results Centre.
MTC and the ECN have also announced they are in further consultation to extend the collaboration to the local authority and regional council elections in 2010.
Among others, the discussions include:
* Subscriber-based voter verification announcements through SMS;
* Election announcements through SMS;
* ECN call centre activation; and
* Connectivity to central elections results centre.
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