WINDHOEK – Political analysts feel minority parties did not go out of their way to pursuade voters to give them the mandate in the elections scheduled for Friday.
Political analyst Fanuel Kaapama on Monday said very few political parties campaigned nationwide or at least held campaigns in major towns, adding that most political campaigns by the minority parties were confined to two or three regions.
“It speaks volumes even of your convictions as a party. This raises concerns whether you consider yourself as a government-in-waiting,” he noted.
“Most of the parties tend to campaign on the eve of the elections,” said analyst Dr Hoze Riruako.
Riruako feels it is critical to engage voters throughout the years in order to canvas votes and not just during the period leading to elections.
“Given the prevailing apathy where voters are not necessarily partaking to the fullest I would have expected the opposition to have an ongoing campaign from the last elections till these elections. Constant voter education is paramount to improve voter interest,” said Riruako.
Unlike in the past, Riruako feels the playground was levelled for all political parties in terms of media coverage and that the campaign environment was relatively free of political intimidation.
“No political party will cry foul that they were not given enough media coverage,” said Riruako.
Furthermore he said that in addition to the time given by the NBC as well as other media coverage of the various political activities, Swapo was able to buy its own time to reach potential voters who could not make it to the Sam Nujoma Stadium to watch the final star rally, which also concluded the party’s campaign programme.
Nudo used paid commercials on the Otjiherero radio service of the NBC to reach potential voters. Further, Riruako said the minority parties are very fragmented and in their campaigns they mostly tackled the same issue and that was mainly to focus on the weaknesses of the ruling Swapo Party.
This, he explained, does not set them apart from each other and what they aim to achieve if elected into power, suggesting they should come up with a different strategy. “How are they different? They should show. They need to revamp that system and come up with a different approach,” he suggested.
Political analyst George Mayumbelo said unlike in the past the election campaigns were peaceful.
“We need to commend our people for their maturity,” he said. He added: “It’s very clear the ruling party will win the elections.” He said this is because other political parties’ meetings were not very well attended.
“It will be interesting to see how the DTA performs,” he said, adding that the DTA will most likely take votes from Nudo that was not very visible in its campaigns.
“Nudo lost a strong figure in the name of Chief Kuaima Riruako,” he said, adding that this affected the party’s campaigns.
Kaapama also noted Chief Riruako’s death may have had an impact on the party’s campaign this year.
Another analyst,Dr Andrew Niikondo said: “The political maturity among party supporters is growing,” adding that there were no incidences of mob violence reported in the name of politics. The analysts also noted that opposition parties’ campaigns were probably affected by inadequate financial resources.
By Alvine Kapitako