The opposition parties have been popular in the past during election campaigns for advocating the breakdown of the two-thirds majority the ruling party has enjoyed since independence.
As evident in the results of the just concluded election, the bar has to be raised significantly, they now have to breakdown the four fifth majority. Their visibility, performance has to be twice or even thrice as much as it used to be for the realisation of their dream.
The current status quo is that the opposition is losing its support base with every election. Each election has seen the birth of at least one new political party whose supporters mostly deflect from other already existing opposition parties and thus cause their death. This is not surprising as the visibility of opposition parties during this year’s election campaign trail was almost non-existent, worse than what it used to be in the past.
One major reason one could deduce is the lack of financial resources to pull off a successful campaign as the one of the ruling party. They should take the responsibility of their financial woes on their shoulders, as their fund raising efforts are very poor. Opposition parties mostly attempt to make their presence known though limited during election year as opposed to the ruling party whose visibility is there throughout their five-year rule, mostly through the state funded publication (New Era) and the broadcaster (NBC).
Almost on a daily basis one would read or watch news on the projects the government is implementing or intends to implement to ensure that their support base increases. People vote parties in parliament to ensure that they are represented and their needs and concerns are catered for. Their hope is that the ones they elect would be their voice to improve their living standards. However quite disappointingly, the opposition parties have failed dismally to live up to these expectations. They take it for granted that their performance too is measured.
There are many social issues that the government is falling short on which the opposition parties could capitalise on to increase their support base by not only criticizing the government but by also proposing tangible solutions on how to fight the social ills. It seems that they have more time and money to spend on litigation instead of campaigns, which will win them their most needed votes.
Many Namibians choose to not vote when dissatisfied with the ruling party as the options left equate to ‘no option’. There was even a campaign going on in the Zambezi Region to ‘no vote’. The voter apathy has also increased as eligible voters choose to not turn-up for elections. One cannot emphasise enough the importance of strong opposition parties to ensure peace, stability and democracy. For them to achieve the dream of breaking the two-thirds majority, opposition parties should put aside their differences and aim at working together to break the one party dominant system we currently have and become more accountable to the electorate.
Nicolette Pieters