The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has been rated as one of the leading and most credible electoral bodies in Africa. This is contained in a survey done by the Afrobarometer over a period between 2014 and 2015, with the findings released last week. The survey was to gauge how democracy works and elections carried out on the continent. It found that only half of Africans trust their national electoral commissions, with many fearing violence and unfair practices during electoral campaigns. While public assessments vary widely by country on average, more than four in ten Africans expressed serious concerns about the fairness of vote counts, corruption during elections and safety of voters. Half of Africans say elections DO NOT ensure that voters’ views are represented or that elected officials can be held accountable. The most free and fair country, according to the survey, is Mauritius at 91 percent, followed by Senegal at 87 percent and Namibia in third position, at 80 percent. Botswana was rated fourth with 77 percent, while South Africa is fifth with 72 percent. ECN’s Chief Electoral Officer Paul Isaak says the results speak volume of the confidence that people have in the new strategies the commission uses. He attributed the score to the introduction of electronic voters register and the Electronic Voting Machines – EVMs.