Allexer Namundjembo
The Rally for Democracy and Progress’s (RDP) president, Mike Kavekotora has accused the Swapo party of using its influence to undermine political parties established by its former members.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Kavekotora claimed that seat allocations in the recently concluded elections were influenced by Swapo and Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF, with the aim of eliminating opposition parties formed by former Swapo members.
“They want parties formed by former Swapo members to vanish from the political sphere. They made sure that we are not allocated any seat, hoping that the party dies,” Kavekotora said.
He also claimed that the conduct of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) commissioners aligned with Swapo’s objectives to ensure the disappearance of RDP.
“So the commissioners’ attempts this time around were to the satisfaction of their masters, as they made sure RDP is removed from parliament and thus extinct from the Namibian political arena,” he added.
Kavekotora confirmed that RDP has joined other political parties in legally challenging the election outcome, citing numerous irregularities.
“We are focused on the landmark court case that we and other political parties have instituted as a collective and as a team of responsible leaders. We cannot accept the outcome of the results as there were many irregularities. We are going to challenge the outcome of the elections in our courts, and we have trust in our courts. We were just waiting for the announcements of the result, and we will take the next step,” Kavekotora said.
The RDP Vice President, Kennedy Shekupakela attributed the party’s challenges to internal leadership issues but dismissed the impact of faction leader Kandi Nehova, who was expelled from the party.
“We cannot say he had an impact as we have performed well but sabotaged. He has no impact, as he is not a party member. He was expelled after a long time,’’ Shekupakela said.
The ECN denied allegations of external interference during the electoral process.
ECN Chairperson Elsie Nghikembua on Tuesday reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of Namibia’s democratic processes.
“The accusations are baseless, and the ECN operates under the constitutional mandate to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections. Our processes are guided by law, and we stand firm on our integrity.”Nghikembua said.
Swapo’s deputy secretary general, Uahekua Herunga said the accusations are untrue.
“That does not make sense. Those accusations are untrue and baseless,” Herunga said.
