The Namibian general election of 2019: SWAPO is turning sour
The Namibian general election of 2019, much like recent South African elections, resulted in a substantial loss of support for the dominant big tent independence party, SWAPO (South West Africa Peoples' Organisation, referring to the fact that Namibia was called South West Africa until it obtained independence from South Africa in 1990).
Hage Geingob, the incumbent SWAPO-backed President of Namibia, was re-elected in the first round but he only obtained 56.3% of the vote, the lowest vote share ever by a SWAPO Presidential candidate; by comparison he polled 86.7% of the vote in 2014. This was largely due to the intervention of Panduleni Itula, a former SWAPO youth organiser who received the backing of the Republican Party (mainly catering to the interests of white Namibians), and the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (similar to the Economic Freedom Fighters of South Africa, and as equally hard socialist) during that presidential election. Panduleni received 29.4% of the vote, showing the growing desire for change in Namibia; much of his vote came from the main opposition party, the Popular Democratic Alliance, whose presidential candidate polled only 5.3% even though they are the main opposition in the Namibian National Assembly.
SWAPO, for the first time since 1989, failed to obtain a supermajority in the Namibian Assembly, winning 63 seats out of 96 elected by suffrage (there are actually 104 seats in the National Assembly of Namibia, but 8 Namibian MPs are appointed by the President) Their loss of 14 seats is their worst ever loss since Namibia gained independence from South Africa and represents a particularly sharp decrease in support which signifies that they are losing their dominant grip on power. The Popular Democratic Alliance, the main conservative political party in Namibia, was the main beneficiary winning 16 seats and forming the strongest opposition political force since Namibian independence. The Landless Reform Movement, formed by former land minister Bernardus Svartbooi, won 4 seats; land reform is a significant issue in Namibia since half of all arable land in Namibia is owned by just 4000 people, most of whom are white Namibians. Redistribution since independence to disadvantaged groups has been a slow process since few farmers are willing to sell any land. Most other parties retained their previous number of parliamentary seats, although the Namibian EFF eclipsed the Workers' Revolutionary Party, with the former gaining two seats and the latter losing both their seats and dropping to a miserable 0.4% of the vote. The Rally for Progress & Democracy lost 2 seats and the Republican Party gained 1 seat, and the fundamentalist Christian Democratic Voice Party made its debut with 1 seat; overall the opposition in the Namibian Assembly is less fragmented than in 2014.
SWAPO may have lost its supermajority but it has a clear majority nevertheless, although the pace of reform may be faster than in previous Namibian parliamentary sessions.
Hage Geingob, the incumbent SWAPO-backed President of Namibia, was re-elected in the first round but he only obtained 56.3% of the vote, the lowest vote share ever by a SWAPO Presidential candidate; by comparison he polled 86.7% of the vote in 2014. This was largely due to the intervention of Panduleni Itula, a former SWAPO youth organiser who received the backing of the Republican Party (mainly catering to the interests of white Namibians), and the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (similar to the Economic Freedom Fighters of South Africa, and as equally hard socialist) during that presidential election. Panduleni received 29.4% of the vote, showing the growing desire for change in Namibia; much of his vote came from the main opposition party, the Popular Democratic Alliance, whose presidential candidate polled only 5.3% even though they are the main opposition in the Namibian National Assembly.
SWAPO, for the first time since 1989, failed to obtain a supermajority in the Namibian Assembly, winning 63 seats out of 96 elected by suffrage (there are actually 104 seats in the National Assembly of Namibia, but 8 Namibian MPs are appointed by the President) Their loss of 14 seats is their worst ever loss since Namibia gained independence from South Africa and represents a particularly sharp decrease in support which signifies that they are losing their dominant grip on power. The Popular Democratic Alliance, the main conservative political party in Namibia, was the main beneficiary winning 16 seats and forming the strongest opposition political force since Namibian independence. The Landless Reform Movement, formed by former land minister Bernardus Svartbooi, won 4 seats; land reform is a significant issue in Namibia since half of all arable land in Namibia is owned by just 4000 people, most of whom are white Namibians. Redistribution since independence to disadvantaged groups has been a slow process since few farmers are willing to sell any land. Most other parties retained their previous number of parliamentary seats, although the Namibian EFF eclipsed the Workers' Revolutionary Party, with the former gaining two seats and the latter losing both their seats and dropping to a miserable 0.4% of the vote. The Rally for Progress & Democracy lost 2 seats and the Republican Party gained 1 seat, and the fundamentalist Christian Democratic Voice Party made its debut with 1 seat; overall the opposition in the Namibian Assembly is less fragmented than in 2014.
SWAPO may have lost its supermajority but it has a clear majority nevertheless, although the pace of reform may be faster than in previous Namibian parliamentary sessions.
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