Political scientists and analysts say the transition of Affirmative Repositioning (AR) from a social justice movement to a fully-fledged political party has the potential to alter the dynamics of the political landscape.
Ndumba Kamwanyah, a political analyst, says the AR needs to mature beyond its previous tactics.
“The maturity of AR means moving past the issues of insult and dependence on cult personality. They must be prepared to speak to all Namibians, not just young people. The young people alone will not make them win the elections,” Kamwanya asserts.
He stresses that AR needs to learn from its past mistakes, noting the high expectations during the 2019/2020 elections in Windhoek that ended in disappointment.
AR’s participation in the Windhoek town council, with Professor Job Amupanda as mayor, yielded mixed results.
“They talked about the land they wanted to give to the young people, but they did not manage. The council is a mess, and part of that is their contribution,” he said.
Kamwanyah believes the AR must put forth policy alternatives that address the challenges faced by Namibians.
“Criticism in itself is not a policy. They need to come up with a policy agenda and direction to convince voters they can be trusted to be voted into power,” said Kamwanyah.
Should AR make it to parliament, Kamwanyah acknowledges the potential benefits of young people in parliament but warns of the challenges they might face.
“For AR, I think we should not judge them in terms of the young people that went in to join already established politics, because the politics within established political parties, you have to toe the line. And, that’s why we have seen that a lot of young people become lame ducks because they cannot question the internal dynamics within their political parties. But for AR, I hope that they are going in as a social movement that was initially led by young people. Hopefully, we will see a robust debate, if they are in parliament, on raising critical issues,” he said.
He hopes AR can maintain its independence and bring robust debate to parliament, but he cautions against the dangers of a personality cult.
“I have a concern. They might deny it, but the cult personality must be addressed within that party. You don’t want to have a party that revolves around one individual, like what we have seen with itself as a social movement,” he advises.
AR spokesperson George Kambala refuted the claims that the movement is centred around a personality cult.
“Anyone who keeps referring to AR as a personality cult of Job Amupanda is oblivious to the facts. We have young people across the country leading this movement,” Kambala states.
He highlights AR’s growth from a three-member movement to one with thousands of supporters.
“We need to give credit where it’s due and not just blame shift,” Kambala insists, pointing to AR’s success rates compared to other political parties.
Political scientist Rui Tyitende believes only time will reveal the full impact of AR’s transition.
“If their modus operandi is anything to go by, we should expect robust debate in terms of policy initiatives,” Tyitende says.
He cites AR’s role in the Rent Control Board Act and their agreement with then-President Hage Geingob to service 200,000 plots, benefiting towns like Walvis Bay and Oshakati.
Tyitende questions whether AR will continue focusing on urban land delivery or expand to other issues.
“They need to focus on particular issues that resonate with the majority of citizens, like housing, primary healthcare, unemployment, and food security,” he advises.
Tyitende also notes the importance of clear policy agendas.
According to him, without clear policy positions, AR may struggle to distinguish itself from other parties in the eyes of voters.
“What is it that they are selling to the Namibian populace? And that’s one thing that they left to answer. So far, we haven’t seen a lot of manifestos being released. I can only recall one by the independent candidate, Ally Angula. I do not know why political parties are taking so long to release their political manifestos,” he observes.
