Chart of the week
Many Namibians left it late to register for the 2024 general elections, with the final week seeing the highest average daily registrations in eight of the 14 regions — despite the final week having only four registration days compared to six in previous weeks.The more urban regions experienced a significantly greater spike in registrations than the rural regions, with the Khomas Region notably seeing 2.3 times more registrations in the final week than the average of all previous weeks.
Omaheke and Hardap also saw double the number of daily registrations compared to the average of all previous weeks, while Erongo recorded 1.7 times the average.
In the more rural regions, the highest average daily registrations occurred in the first few weeks, with Ohangwena, Omusati and Kavango West recording their highest numbers in the very first week. Oshana and Oshikoto recorded their highest averages in the third week, though this was only marginally less than in the first week.
Efforts by the Electoral Commission of Namibia to expand its registration reach likely supported the increased numbers, with more active mobile stations in the final two weeks. This is in addition to the seeming tendency of Namibians to register late rather than early.
While analysis suggests that eligible voters in urban regions are more disengaged with political affairs, urban individuals may find themselves tied to responsibilities that clash with the times when registration stations are open, such as formal employment with set working hours and other competing responsibilities.
The rural regions registering earlier is likely explained by a combination of more informal employment (meaning flexible hours), high unemployment and greater population density, suggesting that availability is higher and travel time to stations is shorter than in urban regions.