ECN targets more youth and women voters through voter education

Opuwo: The Electoral Commission of Namibia ( ECN ) has indicated that it will target more women and youth voters as Namibia gears up for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections in November . Over 90 per cent of the eligible voters in Namibia were registered by ECN , resulting in over 1 . 4 million eligible voters . More than 800 000 on the voter register are women , and 901 316 of the total registered voters are under the age of 42 and are regarded as youth . According to the ECN , these two groups ought to dominate during elections . ' This will be accomplished by boosting political and civic engagement as a means of fostering an inclusive society and robust democratic participation from all parties involved ." Santos Muhenje , Kunene Regional Voter Education Officer , said in an interview with Nampa on Wednesday . Muhenje emphasised the significance of civic and youth ambassadors in enticing more young people and women voters , adding that women ' s political participation is an essential prerequis ite for gender equality and true democracy . He also said Himba women in particular used to abstain from voting , but this narrative needs to change as ECN now directly engages all women and young people of voting age to participate in public decision - making processes . He said the ECN ' s youth ambassadors have incorporated culture into their civic education responsibilities in an effort to encourage more women to cast ballots . ' We must ensure that more women cast ballots than in the past , when more men used to vote despite women being more . With the help of the youth ambassadors who have been doing voter education while wearing Himba clothing so that the women and young girls can relate to them , we have devised a different approach that we think will attract more female voters ,' Muhenje said . To increase the number of women and young people , the commission has four youth ambassadors and seven voter educators working in the Kunene Region . Furthermore , Muhenje stated that they anticipate a higher voter turnout owing to the region ' s stellar performance during the voter registration process . Following the registration period , both the Epupa and Opuwo Urban constituencies surpassed 100 per cent , attaining 112 and 104 per cent respectively . Source: The Namibia News Agency