Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Swapo presidential candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has dismissed comparisons between Namibia and Botswana’s political landscapes.
She made this statement over the weekend on her social media platforms, reassuring Swapo supporters not to be alarmed by the election results in neighbouring Botswana, where the opposition won by a significant margin.
“The opposition in Botswana built a coalition aligned with the former President Ian Khama. The fight was between Masisi and Khama. None of that will happen in Namibia,’’ she said.
According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, the opposition political parties in Namibia are fragmented like the wind of Alaska.
In Botswana, the Umbrella for Democratic Change secured 35 out of 61 parliamentary seats, relegating the long-dominant Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to just three seats after 58 years in power.
She insisted that Swapo remains strong and united, unlike the fractured opposition in Namibia.
‘’Namibia has the first female presidential candidate fielded by Swapo. She is a unifier, and she is a mother to all. Over the last two years, the Swapo party, and indeed the nation, has united around her,’’ she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah highlighted Swapo’s consistent efforts to engage with the public through rallies, door-to-door campaigns, and mobilization activities.
She stressed that the party has addressed internal differences maturely, standing ‘Ndjikiti’ (as a fortress) ahead of the 2024 elections.
“We have handled our differences maturely. The opposition in Namibia is fragmented like the wind of Alaska. There is nothing they can say which we have not addressed. That is why our manifesto speaks to unity in diversity. It speaks to the equitable distribution of wealth in Namibia to benefit all Namibians,’’ stated Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Opposition parties like Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda and Popular Democratic Movement McHenry Venaani have urged voters to learn from the people of Botswana and vote for the opposition and not the ruling party.
“Botswana’s corrupt party, BDP, a sister party to corrupt SWAPO, had full rallies using artists, Zimbabwe motivational speakers, and distributed food parcels but still massively lost the elections. It actually dropped from No. 1 to No. 4. The president is busy packing up biscuits in his office and has already accepted defeat. Lesson: Rallies don’t win elections. The hearts and minds of people do! Numbers do lie after all!,” said Amupanda.
Venaani added: “Imagine a ruling left with four seats in parliament. The party that was running a country with more than 37 seats is now down to four. The Tsunami is coming to Namibia.”
