Uakutura Kambaekua 

As the watershed Regional Council and Local Authority elections draw near, the battle for the Kunene region is intensifying, with at least 33 candidates contesting seats across the seven constituencies.

This includes 10 political parties and associations striving for dominance in all four local authorities, with 156 individuals vying for council seats.

Following the last elections in 2020, parties such as Swapo, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), and the United Democratic Front (UDF) have maintained dominance in key constituencies and local authorities.
The previous elections saw the UDF make a comeback, reclaiming lost ground from Swapo and narrowly winning in Sesfontein, Khorixas, and Kamanjab. However, the UDF lost Kamanjab to Swapo during the June 2025 by-elections. 

Swapo now controls two constituencies, Outjo and Kamanjab, while PDM governs Opuwo Urban, Epupa and Opuwo Rural. Moreover, UDF (three seats) and PDM (one seat) have taken control of the Kamanjab Village Council with four seats compared to Swapo’s three. The UDF also leads Khorixas with four seats, while Swapo holds three and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) one. 

PDM made its own comeback at the Opuwo Town Council after reducing Swapo to three seats, gaining four in 2020 to cement its dominance in the regional capital.

Despite losing much of its stronghold, Swapo retained control in Outjo, leading the municipality with three seats, while LPM, PDM and UDF each hold one. With the 26 November 2025 elections approaching, parties, associations and independent candidates are all set and eager to secure a share of Kunene’s political landscape.

The question remains whether the region will witness new leaders emerge or whether the status quo will prevail.

According to Uerimanga Tjijombo, a linguistics scholar and political commentator from Kunene, the region continues to be a three-way battleground.

“PDM holds a significant advantage in the Opuwo Rural and Epupa constituencies, while the UDF is firmly established in Khorixas, Sesfontein and Kamanjab. Meanwhile, Swapo remains competitive across the region and aims to regain its leadership position,” he said.

Tjijombo, sharing his views on the upcoming elections with Nampa, said that despite Swapo losing its grip on the region five years ago, the ruling party regrouped and emerged stronger during June’s by-elections, winning Kamanjab while losing Sesfontein by a narrow margin to UDF, demonstrating organisational recovery.

He said the region may again see split control and tight margins by settlement rather than sweeping victories across the board. Tjijombo believes these elections will depend largely on candidates’ quality and local roots, including youth mobilisation. “Opuwo Urban and Epupa have the region’s largest and youngest urban populations, so youth-focused campaigns and first-time voters could shift margins at the edges,” said Tjijombo.

“The is a slight lean on Swapo, but still competitive given UDF’s historic strength. Sesfontein, historically, was a UDF/Swapo battleground. With no fresh, conclusive swing evidence like Kamanjab’s, I rate it a true toss-up with a very narrow UDF edge if opposition coordination holds; a Swapo win is plausible on turnout alone,” said he added.

He further noted that Swapo’s youthful candidate, David Kulunga, could narrow margins if youth registration translates into votes, but incumbency advantages and PDM’s entrenched brand in Opuwo suggest PDM remains favoured, with a much closer race than in 2020.

According to Tjijombo, the Khorixas Town Council can expect another fragmented outcome, with the UDF likely to retain influence if its vote share holds. He emphasised that, given Swapo’s 2025 by-election momentum in Kamanjab, the local authority race there is too close to call. For the Opuwo Town Council, he said, PDM is expected to finish first, though a multi-party council will likely continue.

In 2020, Outjo saw Swapo topping the polls and governing within a divided council. “Expect Swapo to remain competitive for control, but again through coalition arithmetic,” he noted.

He further said that “Epupa is one of Kunene’s fastest-growing and historically PDM-leaning constituencies. With governor Vipuakuje Muharukua as the region’s political figurehead, Swapo’s ground campaign will be better resourced and more visible than in 2020. However, PDM starts with a structural advantage from previous victories and local networks. I expect a close, PDM-favoured race.”

Finally, Tjijombo called on the public to accept the outcomes peacefully, respecting the will of the people. “The true victory for Kunene and Namibia lies not in who wins a seat, but in our ability to preserve peace, unity, and democratic maturity,” he said.

Renowned conservationist and social activist Gray Kasaona predict that Swapo will win in Outjo and Kamanjab, though he remains cautious regarding the Epupa constituency. He believes the race in Epupa will be closely contested between the incumbent PDM and Swapo, in contrast to previous elections where PDM won by a significant margin.

“Epupa constituency will be a close call; based on the last election and the recent campaigns by both parties and their messages to the public, one could expect a tight contest. The area is developing, and many voters are making informed choices through political education and governance issues,” he said.

Kasaona noted that the Opuwo Urban constituency and its local authority will be unpredictable, given how narrow the last election was between PDM and Swapo.

“This is an area with educated citizens who will not vote solely based on politics, tribal affiliations, or party loyalty; these individuals have informed opinions and seek change,” he commented, adding that it will be a close contest between the two main parties (PDM and Swapo), with other parties “merely” serving to divide votes.

He also observed that Khorixas, despite being a Swapo stronghold over the past decade, now presents a challenge for the ruling party.
“Khorixas will likely favour UDF; they are likely to assert their influence there, given the ongoing internal conflicts and factions within the ruling party,” he said, adding that a victory for Swapo would only be an added bonus. -Nampa