In little over a month, Namibians from all walks of life will have the opportunity to participate in the electoral process by expressing who should be our representatives responsible for running the State.
The collective decision we make as registered voters, entrusted with the future of an entire nation, should ultimately promote equality and dignity for all.
This fundamental democratic principle is enshrined within the Namibian Constitution, which aspires to foster a just and equitable societal framework wherein equality, mutual security and human dignity are universally accessible for all to guarantee government accountability towards the Namibian Constitution. Therefore, it is essential that all Namibians committed to the preservation of democracy and the safeguarding of the universal rights and protections enshrined in the constitution participate in the electoral process, and adopt an intersectional consciousness in their decision-making process that interrogates and resists the trappings of asymmetrical, hegemonic power relations and interlocking axes of oppression which seek to contain pluralism, as such an exercise of pluralism is essential to fostering democratisation and preserving constitutionality.
With 91% of eligible voters registered in the upcoming election, record turnout is expected, making it crucial for the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies to unite in their efforts to mobilise voters to prioritise intersectional social and poxlitical issues at the ballot box.
This can be achieved through campaigning to enumerate the positions of political parties and candidates in their constituencies, coalition-building with other marginalised groups, curbing religious counter-movements which dehumanise Namibian citizens, and cultivating a public political consciousness premised on and materialised through intersectional solidarity.
Intersectionality is described as “an assemblage of ideas and practices which maintain that gender, race, class, sexuality, age, ethnicity, ability and similar phenomena cannot be analytically understood in isolation from one another. Instead, these constructs signal an intersecting constellation of power relationships which produce unequal material realities and distinctive social experiences for individuals and groups positioned within them.” Thus, by fostering this intersectional consciousness, we can manifest an understanding of the interactions between numerous systems of oppression and domination within the public consciousness, therefore drawing new people into movement mobilisations by generating visibility for new narratives of comprehending the broader dimensions of the struggle for an equal and equitable Namibia. Such a political culture of oppression perpetuated through various realities – poverty, sexual and gender-based violence, disability exclusion, undermining of indigenous rights, unemployment and the lack of dignity experienced by many Namibians – fundamentally undermines Namibia’s core democratic values.
The regrettable lived realities of democratic participation in Namibia often prevent pluralism through the notion of intersectional solidarity due to the nation’s troubling contention with systemic corruption, a lack of transparency, weak accountability mechanisms, and efforts to legislate discriminatory policies—which are particularly pronounced in the experiences of marginalised communities such as the LGBTQIA+ community – thus, undermining the critical mass required to meaningfully reform this dehumanising system of oppression and dominance through elections and exercises of collective decision-making.
This cis-heteronormative, patriarchal entrenchment of violence and injustice against LGBTQIA+ individuals in the political sphere is evidenced by the alarming number of discriminatory “anti-LGBTQIA+ bills” passed in parliament by ruling party MPs Jerry Ekandjo and Albert Kawana, in response to High Court and Supreme Court verdicts ordering the government to recognise same-sex marriages legally conducted abroad in May 2023 and repealing the Apartheid-era sodomy law in June 2024, respectively. These draconian hate bills ultimately debilitate our democracy by exploiting the powers of the legislature to undermine the legitimacy and functioning of the judiciary through the tabled prohibition of marriage equality for LGBTQIA+ people by defining marriage along exclusively heterosexual lines, discriminating against transgender people, appealing the Sodomy Law verdict, and criminalising any support of same-sex unions with up to six years in jail and hefty fines.
The consequences of this anti-LGBTQIA+ backlash promulgated by the State – coupled with the intersecting rise of anti-gender movements, conservative forces and the far-right – do not exclusively manifest in the political realm, as the rise in discriminatory and hateful rhetoric against the LGBTQIA+ community contributes significantly towards the creation of a hostile environment wherein queer individuals and their allies experience an alarming surge in verbal and physical violence.
This violence, which is further exacerbated by malicious anti-LGBTQIA+ religious groups, is regrettably underscored by the gruesome murders of six queer Namibians in the past year.
Their names are Gerome Helgrain, Vernon Gavin, Queen Uwuseb, Gurney Uirab, Stanley Cloete and Christof ‘Sexy’ Fredericks – an indigenous transgender woman whose mutilated body was most recently discovered with 32 stab wounds in May 2024. Thus, the stakes in this election have never been higher, as they are not merely predicated on our righteous defence of democracy and the rule of law, but on our commitment to preserving justice and human dignity for all.
The severity of these issues is poignantly evident in the distressing abundance of socio-economic ills plaguing the Namibian government, such as the 2019 Fishrot scandal, the persisting hunger crisis with an estimated 1.2 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity, the repeated instances of mass fires incinerating informal settlements, and the distressing rise in far-right social and economic attitudes.
Therefore, it’s producing significant challenges obstructing the full realisation of political, social and economic liberty, justice and equality for all Namibians, and consequently destabilising and delegitimising constitutional and democratic principles preserved within the rule of law and our commitment to human rights.
Moreover, Namibia is classified as a “flawed democracy” as per the Global Democracy Index, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which evaluates the democratic health of 165 countries and two territories based on five key categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties. Yet, although Namibia performed relatively well on the index – ranking 57th globally and fifth in sub-Saharan Africa – significant challenges in government accountability, corruption and apathy towards the constitutionally-mandated rights of marginalised groups such as the LGBTQIA+ community, gravely impede the country’s democratic health. Most Namibian political parties have expressed their moral opposition to LGBTQIA+ rights, while paradoxically welcoming LGBTQIA+ votes, despite the omission of any mention of LGBTQIA+ issues in their manifestos, which further marginalises the community from political discourse.
The Republican Party, Swapo and Swanu all articulate conservative stances, often weaponising Christian values, and erroneously framing homosexuality as “unnatural,” “un-African,” or morally wrong, with some even proposing “rehabilitation” for LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Additionally, political parties which previously supported the LGBTQIA+ community, such as the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), have removed any mention of LGBTQIA+ rights in their 2024 manifesto, as compared to their 2019 manifesto. Although some, like the All People’s Party, emphasise their support for marriage equality and LGBTQIA+ rights, the broader reluctance of their political peers to engage with these issues highlights the ongoing tension between conservative societal values and the need for human rights’ inclusivity in Namibia’s democratic process.
Conclusively, it is evident that equality is on the ballot this November in the Namibian Presidential and National Assembly elections, which offer the Namibian electorate an opportunity to strengthen our flawed democracy by defending our fundamental democratic values, preserving the supremacy of our constitution, and maintaining the separation of powers to ensure that equality, justice and dignity are accessible to all Namibians, regardless of identity.
*Othello Joseph is a community organiser for Equal Namibia.