Stefanus Nashama
The Popular Democratic Movement’s (PDM) failure to secure its official opposition position in the National Assembly is due to the party’s history, rather than being a self-made political entity.
Political commentator, Ben Mulongeni said this in an interview with the Windhoek Observer on Sunday.
“The PDM is not a self-made party; it was formed to fight the liberation movement, Swapo, not to bring communism but democracy. After democracy, the party has nothing to offer,” he said.
In the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections, the PDM dropped from 16 parliamentary seats to five.
The newly established Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) and Affirmative Repositioning (AR) secured 21 and six seats, respectively.
Mulongeni said political parties such as the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), Affirmative Repositioning (AR), and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) are self-made.
“People go where there is hope,” he said.
Mulongeni reiterated that such political parties were formed on their own, unlike the PDM, which was inherited from the previous regime.
“We have to consider the history of political parties. Why do you have the history of Jesus, who you have never seen? People voted for Swapo because of its history too. The PDM gained more seats in 2019 since there was no alternative. Their aim was to challenge Swapo for democracy. Now, we are all in democracy. What else can they offer?” he asked.
Mulongeni likened the PDM in this year’s elections to Ninja fighting Harry Simon’s boxing match.
“Harry Simon is a champion who ended up fighting a prisoner, a street person,” he said.
According to him, not only have people lost hope in the PDM, but the party has also lost the support of its former allies, such as NUDO and the Republican Party with who it formed the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA).
Despite the political history, Mulongeni acknowledged that the PDM has the legislative experience to hold Swapo accountable, and he maintained this was done with outside assistance.
“Venaani was just left there as a weak symbolic person, but the party has lost support due to its history,” he said.
Political analyst Sakaria Johannes argued that the PDM’s decline is partly due to the emergence of new political players.
“Now that there are new political parties such as IPC, AR and LPM, the PDM had to go down because it had no big support, though it has been an official opposition,” he said.
Johannes noted that the PDM’s ideologies are not vastly different from Swapo’s, which diminishes its appeal.
“Looking at the current political environment, the PDM’s ideology is not that far from Swapo. They work together as a brother and sister,” he explained.
Johannes also pointed out that the PDM’s support is largely from the Herero community, whereas parties like IPC and AR draw support from the Aawambo, Namibia’s majority ethnic group.
Political science graduate Marven Kambonde said the PDM’s complacency contributed to its decline.
“The party has been proud to be the second largest and considers itself as an alternate government. But with the establishment of IPC and AR, their space in politics has halted. Things happen just like that. Swapo should also learn from this lesson; a lot more is to come in the future,” he said.
The PDM’s Secretary-General Manuel Ngaringombe declined to comment on the election results but said the party would issue a statement in due course.
“I cannot comment now, but the party will invite the media in the future to give its position on the election results,” he said.
