Iuze Mukube
Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani has taken a swipe at internal political slates ahead of their elective congress.
The PDM congress kicks off tomorrow in Zambezi regional capital Katima Mulilo.
They are also expected to launch their election manifesto this weekend.
As of yesterday, delegates from different parts of the country had already descended on the town to partake in the crescendo, as a decisive moment beckoned. On Tuesday, posters of the party’s top five leaders below Venaani were spreading like wildfire on different social media platforms, as the push for PDM’s top six leaders to retain their positions unopposed climaxed.
Venaani did not take this lightly, if internal communications are anything to go by. “[This] is not slate politics that senior leaders are campaigning with the same mantra. Let’s avoid that. Any leader must campaign in his own right,” he fumed on PDM’s central committee members’ WhatsApp group.
While PDM leaders have denied pushing for the status quo to be retained as reported by this publication, lawmaker Hidipo Hamata became the first senior
figure to make this position known publicly. The top six leaders are party leader Venaani, his deputy Jennifer van den Heever, secretary general Manuel Ngaringombe, his deputy Linus Thobias, national chairperson Diederick Vries and party treasurer Nico Smit.
So far, all other top six leaders except for Smit and Venaani have known opponents who have shown interest in toppling them.
In a statement on Tuesday, Hamata
said: “I strongly urge all delegates to endorse the current top six leaders for another
term.” When contacted yesterday, Venaani was firm in his resolve that every position will be contested.
“That is just a fallacy. There is nobody who has endorsed anybody. Those who are writing that narrative are people who want to probably protect themselves in the jobs they have, or something. There is nothing like endorsement.
We don’t endorse people; we vote for people. It’s a democracy. So, those who are saying no, the top leadership should not be touched, they could air it. They could be airing an opinion, but they must know that it’s a democratic order,” he said, seemingly hitting back at Hamata.
Reaction
Approached for comment on the build-up to the PDM congress, which has been postponed several times, political commentator Ndumba Kamwanyah said the plan by some within the movement to push the top six leaders down the delegates’ throats can be viewed from different perspectives. “It might reflect a sense of unity and consensus within the party, where the leadership believes that these individuals are best-suited for their roles, and no viable opposition exists within the ranks,” he said.
On the other hand, Kamwanyah reasoned that this approach might bring into question the party’s democratic processes. “Democracy ideally involves a contest of ideas and leadership, where party members can choose between different candidates. By endorsing candidates without a competitive process, the PDM risks appearing undemocratic, as it potentially stifles debate and limits the participation of the broader membership. Doing so also might create a dangerous precedent that could come back to haunt the party in its future leadership elections,” he noted. He added: “If the endorsement of the top six is perceived as undemocratic, there could be dissatisfaction among the party’s rank-and-file members, leading to potential divisions or internal conflict. It will be important to see how the party leadership manages any dissent, and whether they can maintain party unity.”
Since the congress is a platform for the PDM to outline its policy priorities, observers should expect clear messages on how the PDM plans to differentiate itself from other political parties, he continued.
“The congress will likely be a crucial moment for the PDM to set its electoral strategy. This includes how they plan to attract voters, especially in a political landscape where opposition parties need to demonstrate strong alternatives to the ruling party,” he said.
Crunch talks
Yesterday evening, PDM’s top brass – the central committee and national executive committee (NEC) – were scheduled to convene. “The meeting is to prepare the final reports which need to be put to congress. So, it’s a procedural matter. It has nothing to do with being urgent or non-urgent. It’s just the business of congress. Before every congress meets, the last NEC, the last CC, meets to adopt the agenda of the congress, to adopt the reports, and all those things. It’s done like that,” Venaani stated.