- About three-quarters (74%) of Namibians support elections as the best way to choose their leaders, while one-quarter (25%) say other methods for choosing the country’s leaders would be preferable (Figure 1).
- Overwhelming majorities report that they feel “somewhat free” or “completely free” to join any political organisation (87%) and to choose whom to vote for without feeling pressured (90%) (Figure 2). o Citizens with no formal education (81%), urban dwellers (84%), and women (85%) are slightly less likely to say they feel free to join any political organisation.
- Almost three-quarters (72%) of citizens say they voted in the last national election in 2019, while 25% say they did not (Figure 3). o Urbanites (65%) are less likely than rural residents (81%) to indicate that they voted in the previous election (Figure 4). o Even excluding those who were too young to vote in 2019, youth aged 18-35 (56%) are far less likely to report having voted than their elders (84%-92%).
- Two-thirds (66%) of respondents describe the 2019 election as having been largely free and fair: 34% say it was “completely free and fair,” while 32% consider it “free and fair with minor problems.” But almost three in 10 (28%) say it was either “free and fair with major problems” (18%) or “not free and fair” (10%) (Figure 5).
- About one in four citizens (26%) say they feared political intimidation or violence “a little bit” (16%), “somewhat” (5%), or “a lot” (5%) during the last election, while 71% report experiencing no such fears (Figure 6).
Most Namibians value elections, and overwhelming majorities say that they feel free to join any political organisation and to choose whom to vote for without feeling pressured, a recent Afrobarometer survey indicates.
More than seven in 10 citizens say they voted in the last election in 2019. While most respondents consider that election to have been largely free and fair, about three in 10 report fearing political intimidation or violence at least “a little bit” during the election campaign.
Namibians will take to the polls in November 2024, with a national re-registration of voters launching in June.
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