Ester Mbathera
The ruling Swapo party is preparing for its electoral college, also known as the ‘pot’, where delegates will choose the next group of 96 members to represent the party in the National Assembly from 2025 to 2029.
Over 650 delegates are expected to attend the electoral college, which will take place from 7 to 8 September in Windhoek.
Swapo veterans Nahas Angula and Helmut Angula have recently made a public appeal to delegates attending the Electoral College.
They urged them to prioritise competence, inclusivity, and diversity when selecting candidates.
According to political columnist Paul Shipale, who agrees with these seasoned politicians, the party must elect individuals who can genuinely represent the country’s diverse population.
“I, therefore, agree with Swapo seasoned politicians and veterans, Nahas Angula and Helmut Angula, who urged the delegates to the Swapo Electoral College to look for candidates who can represent the party in the National Assembly and represent the broader populace in terms of competence, gender, the country’s demographic, economic status, the youth, the poor and marginalised, etc,” he said.
Despite the strong calls for unity and competence, rumours of factionalism loom over the upcoming electoral college.
According to Shipale, there are whispers of internal plots to oust older members in favour of younger candidates.
“I hear that there are rumours of long knives out to stab others in the back, including plots to oust the older generation from the contest, similar to what happened in the Popular Democratic Party (PDM) when the youth out-manoeuvred older politicians and kicked them out of the central committee. The danger with such a move is that the government will have no institutional memory from an experienced and competent crop of politicians,” Shipale warns.
He further warns of the risk that factionalism could undermine Swapo’s ability to present a united front.
Shipale urged the delegates to avoid factionalism and focus on building a leadership team that reflects Namibia’s diversity and is committed to the country’s transformation agenda.
“I implore all those who are going to attend the Swapo Party electoral college to desist from the above practices and avoid factionalism of the ‘neo-liberal’ vs. ‘the radical transformation’ factions or ‘the older generation of Baby Boomers and Gen X’ vs. ‘the newest generation of the born-free or the Gen Y or Millennials and the Gen Z’ factions,” he said.
Swapo critic and chairman of Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights, Phil yaNangolo appeals to the delegates to watch out against hibernating infiltrators and other dormant subversive elements who are against Swapo and its presidential candidate, Cde Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
“Most of these destructive elements are well known by or through their social media and other public or private conduct,” he said.
