WINDHOEK – With only less than two months before the Presidential and National Assembly elections, lawyers representing aggrieved Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) co-founder Kandy Nehova are threatening to prevent the party from participating in the upcoming elections set for November 27.
New Era has seen a letter addressed to current RDP president Mike Kavekotora by Nehova and 20 others through their lawyers Fisher Quarmby and Pfeires Attorneys.
In the letter, Nehova and 20 others are disputing the party’s National Convention held at Ramatex in Windhoek on June 1 – 2 this year.
The convention saw Kavekotora ascending to the party’s highest position beating Nehova with 243 to 133 out of 490 votes cast.
“As was brought to your attention on several occasions and you are well aware of, the convention failed to elect an RDP president in that the electoral rules as adopted were not adhered to,” reads the letter.
The letter further says, “You, running for the position of RDP president, only secured 49.5 percent of the total votes cast. The fact cannot be challenged and was confirmed by press release in June by Brunhilde Cornelius.”
Brunhilde Cornelius was elected secretary general at the said convention.
In the letter, Nehova’s lawyers said the election procedures and rules as were adopted by the convention are clear in that a candidate needs to secure 50+ 1 (one) percent of the total votes cast.
“It is also clear that where no candidate secures such votes a rerun needs to take place. Nowhere do the rules provide that the candidate with highest votes is declared the winner,” said Nehova’s lawyers.
“As such, you are well aware of, the convention failed to elect the president of RDP,” the lawyers said.
According to the lawyers Kavekotora’s actions, in assuming the role of the president, with the full knowledge of the outcome of the convention, are illegal and in contravention of the party constitution and rules and possibly amount to fraud.
“We are demanding that you immediately inform all RDP members that no president or vice-president was elected at the convention,” the lawyers said in four-page letter to Kavekotora.
“We are further instructed that you have entered into coalition with the Christian Democratic Voice (CDV). In terms of the RDP constitution, entering into coalitions is exclusively prerogative of the central committee,” the lawyers said.
“As there is no central committee at this stage, you did not have the authority to enter into such an agreement and as such the agreement is invalid and you have misrepresented the RDP in this,” the lawyers said.
The lawyers gave Kavekotora three days, which have already lapsed, to inform RDP members that he is not the party president, and should he fail to do that their clients will be left with no other option but to institute legal proceedings against Kavekotora and those who support him.
“Given that there are only a few weeks left until the general elections, such a legal action will effectively prevent the RDP from participating in such elections on 27 November 2019,” the lawyers said.
When contacted for comment yesterday, Kavekotora said he does not see the need of commenting on the issues since it is now in the lawyers’ hands,
“I have instructed my lawyers to respond to the said letters; for now, the only thing I can say is to call on all RDP members to remain calm,” he said.