Hard-fought election leaves Swapo with a bloody nose

Despite clinching the presidency with a 57% vote share and a historic win for president-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as the first woman leader of the country, Swapo was left with nine ministers failing to make it back to parliament.

The ruling party experienced its worst parliamentary election performance since independence.

Swapo only managed to win 51 of the 96 elected seats in the National Assembly, with the Independent Patriots for Change sweeping 20 seats, Affirmative Repositioning six seats, and the Landless People’s Movement and Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) both securing five seats.

The PDM also slumped from a comfortable 16 seats in the National Assembly, becoming one of the biggest casualties of the challenge-riddled election.

This development means about nine sitting ministers fall short of being elected to parliament based on the party list system.

Some of the ministers who are facing the proverbial political abyss are mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo, higher education minister Itah Kandji-Murangi, international relations minister Peya Mushelenga, defence minister Frans Kapofi, presidential affairs minister Christine //Hoebes, National Planning Commission director general Obeth Kandjoze, labour minister Utoni Nujoma, urban and rural development minister Erastus Utoni and basic education minister Anna Nghipondoka.

They, however, could get a second bite of the cherry if Nandi-Ndaitwah includes them in the list of the eight persons she can nominate to the National Assembly.

Those are normally used to strike gender balance, introduce technocrats, or sometimes cater for marginalised groups that might be least represented.

Speaking after her election on Tuesday night, Nandi-Ndaitwah said she will deliver on the party’s promises.

“Today, I’m saying to the Namibian people, as we have been telling you throughout the campaign, for us in the Swapo party and the team that I’m going to lead, we have made commitments. And I’m saying to you, we are going to do what we have told you. Thank you for your trust and confidence in us,” she said.

Some of the party’s promises include an N$85 billion war chest to create 250 000 jobs in five years.

Analyst say this is a pie in the sky.

“You have voted for unity in diversity, natural resources beneficiation, and youth empowerment for sustainable development. And this you do through economic transformation. It was in the same room in 2019 when our third president, our late Hage Geingob, may his soul rest in eternal peace, when he stood here and he said, we Namibians, we heard yo
u,” she added.