Namandje shoots down Ekandjo’s call for congress

Swapo politburo member and lawyer Sisa Namandje has dismissed calls for a new party congress to elect the ruling party’s presidential election candidate, calling them “unnecessary” and “time wasting”.

Former minister Jerry Ekandjo has written to president Hage Geingob, arguing that the 2022 Swapo congress did not elect a presidential candidate for the 2024 national elections, casting doubt on the legitimacy of deputy prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s endorsement as the party’s top candidate.

Ekandjo is reportedly considering writing another letter to demand a Swapo extraordinary congress to nominate the party’s presidential candidate.

Calls and text messages to Ekandjo went unanswered at the time of going to print.

Namandje has counted votes at various Swapo congresses for over 13 years – a role which allowed him to set the rules and count ballots for would-be party (and thus state) presidents.

The president’s personal lawyer yesterday told The Namibian that calls for an extraordinary congress are “unnecessary”.

“There is therefore no iota of ambiguity, dispute, or question as to who is the Swapo party’s presidential candidate. It is our current vice president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah,” Namandje said.

‘IRREVERSIBLE’

“So, the debate is unnecessary and time wasting as the Swapo party presidential candidate is not in doubt. It is our current vice president. This is irreversible”.

The lawyer cited last year’s Swapo congress which irreversibly elected Geingob and Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Namandje said the party president is the automatic candidate for the Presidency of the country.

“But where the president can no longer run for the Office of the President of the republic, having served his two terms, the party’s vice president [Nandi-Ndaitwah] is the automatic Swapo party candidate for the Presidency of the country in the 2024 presidential election,” he said.

Ekandjo disagreed with this interpretation.

“The 2022 ordinary congress did not nominate, vote or endorse any candidate to stand as the Swapo party presidential candidate..,” Ekandjo wrote to Geingob earlier this year.

The former minister cited Swapo’s constitution, which states that “any party member who wishes to stand as Swapo party candidate for the president of the Republic of Namibia ought to be nominated and voted for at the ordinary or extraordinary congress”.

Ekandjo’s faction has been on a charm offensive to persuade Geingob to agree to an extraordinary congress.

However, Namandje’s latest comments could be seen as a blow to this ambition.

HOUSE MEETING

Some party leaders who want the extraordinary congress to go ahead claim former president Hifikepunye Pohamba was subjected to the same process in 2004.

Some of Nandi-Ndaitwah’s supporters, including those in the Swapo politburo and central committee, have allegedly convened a meeting at Nandi-Ndaitwah’s house in Windhoek to caucus on how to counter the call for an extraordinary congress.

“The meeting was called to caucus on how we are going to stop the extraordinary congress from taking place, because the secretary general and the vice president are worried about this call.

“Although this call is being pushed by people without influence in the party, they are used by the elders in the party,” a party source told The Namibian yesterday.

KAUMBI BLAMED

Some blame lawyer Joshua Kaumbi who presided over the last year’s congress elections, which ended in what was described as chaos, with central committee results being disputed.

Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa ordered a recount for the central committee elections.

Kaumbi’s allies, however, said his mandate was to conduct elections and to announce the winner.

He had no mandate or power over congress pronouncements or resolutions.

Kaumbi declined to comment yesterday.

Last month Swapo Party Youth League secretary Ephraim Nekongo described Ekandjo’s call for Swapo to convene an extraordinary congress this year as gender-based violence (GBV) against women.

“That to us is political gender-based violence. Has that been done before in the history of the party, or is it because a woman is the vice president now?

“So, if it has not been done before, it cannot be done. We can’t allow gender-based violence against our women,” Nekongo said.

Shaningwa announced Nandi-Ndaitwah as sole Swapo candidate for next year’s presidential election at a party rally held at Rehoboth last month.

She told The Namibian last month that no one can organise an extraordinary congress without going through the party’s politburo and central committee first, and subsequently, the office of the secretary general.

In March this year, Geingob said Nandi-Ndaitwah is the ruling party’s sole candidate for next year’s elections.

Nandi-Ndaitwah yesterday did not respond to questions about the alleged Swapo meeting held at her house.