“Sadc also commends the Supreme Court of Namibia for upholding the Constitutional and electoral law of the country,” reads a statement issued by Mnangagwa Saturday, February 8th.
The Sadc now urges the government of Namibia “and the electoral authorities to implement the recommendations made by the Supreme Court and urges all stakeholders to respect the determination” of the court.
Mnangagwa also says, in line with the Sadc principles and guidelines governing democratic elections, the community encourages the government of Namibia and the Electoral Commision to implement recommendations of the Sadc electoral observation mission (SEOM).
The Supreme Court in Namibia upheld the results of last year's presidential election on Wednesday, saying the challengers failed to prove ruling party manipulation of electronic voting machines, according to the Associated Press.
The ruling means President Hage Geingob will continue in his second term.
He was declared winner in November, 2019 with 56 per cent of the vote while Namibia's first independent presidential candidate, Panduleni Itula, received 29 per cent.
Chief Justice Peter Shivute did rule that the use of electronic voting machines without a paper trail, as decided on before the 2014 election in the southern African nation, was invalid.
Future elections must now include a verifiable paper trail.
Namibia was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to use electronic voting machines.
