Allexer Allexer
The National Unity Democratic Organization (NUDO) president, Ester Muinjangue, has said that her party is busy with campaigning and has no time to waste on collaboration claims.
This comes after a NUDO faction led by Barry Rukoro announced that NUDO and the South West Africa National Union (SWANU) have joined forces to collaborate in the November elections.
Muinjangue on Wednesday told the Windhoek Observer that her party has no time to comment on these claims because she is busy campaigning.
“The Electoral Act is clear that one cannot belong to two parties at the same time. So, we have no further comment regarding this as we are focusing on our campaign. We are on our campaign trail canvassing support for our party,” she said.
She added that her party, through the secretary general, has submitted the parliamentary list to the ECN.
“NUDO, through our legitimate representative at the ECN, Joseph Kauandenge, the party SG, has submitted our parliamentary list to the ECN. If Rukoro’s name appears on another party’s list, then it is a clear indication that he is not a NUDO member, as the Electoral Act is clear that one cannot belong to two parties at the same time,” she added.
However, Barry Rukoro, who claims to be NUDO’s president, said they remain focused on the long-term goal of reclaiming leadership within and strengthening the party from within.
“We have already begun to reinforce the party’s internal structures and initiated a process to review our constitution. With regional and local authority elections happening next year, we are open to continuing this political alliance, ensuring NUDO’s core values remain relevant in Namibia’s political landscape,” he said.
He added that they have explored and endorsed a tactical political alignment with SWANU to safeguard NUDO’s parliamentary representation.
“Over the last few days, we have widely consulted with traditional leaders, as well as branch and constituency leadership across the country. We have received solid and unanimous support to enter into a strategic partnership with SWANU, which we officially announced yesterday,” he said.
“If you have suffered genocide and lost land, there are three political formations that do not deserve your votes in the upcoming national elections: those led by individuals who have not lost land or suffered genocide, those led by individuals who stole your land, and those who are distributing your ancestral land instead of redistributing it,” Rukoro said.
