WINDHOEK- Joseph Kauandenge’s People Democratic Movement (PDM) has announced a coalition with Nudo ahead of this month’s election – ten years after Kauandenge had left Nudo under acrimonious circumstances.
Nudo President Asser Mbai and other Nudo leaders at the Kommando Hall in Katutura welcomed Kauandenge and members from his PDM party last week. Nudo also received six new members from other parties.
Nudo became the latest stopover for Kauandenge who in September announced that he is ending the political marriage with Martin Lukato Lukato of National Democratic Party (NDP).
The coalition with NDP came to an end just under a year after its inception and official announcement in October 2013.
Last week Kauandenge said he received many offers from political parties to join them but he decided to join forces with Nudo because it is the only party which he sees that is true to itself.
“Other parties claim they are national parties yet tenders only go in one direction and only some benefit. At least Nudo has the courage to stand up and say that it is a Herero-dominated party but everyone is welcome,” said the outspoken politician.
According to Kauandenge: “It is unfortunate that we are only joining now, but this was a tactical move. I didn’t want to come at a time when people were fighting for positions during the Electoral College.”
The two parties said they will decide after the elections whether to extend their political marriage or not.
“For now the important thing is that Nudo and PDM knows what they want, as for the rest of the people they can continue speculating we do not care,” he said.
Kauandenge also urged opposition parties in the country to unite if they want to break Swapo’s 2/3 dominance.
He also blamed the failed political marriages between opposition parties to the fact that party leaders are not willing to be lead by others and blamed the oppositions’ failure to end Swapo’s dominance to the divisions existing among opposition parties.
“Coalitions in this country will never last because opposition leaders do not adhere to the give and take principle. They just want to take but they do not want to give during the coalitions. They[opposition parties] are always divided and after the elections they want to cry that the elections were rigged,” he said.
He also accused leaders in the country of inflating their egos at the expense of the electorate.
Kauandenge’s party is yet to be registered with the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN). Many claim that it is due to the fact that he does not have the required 500 members.
“I know people say I cannot register because I cannot get 500 names, this is not true because there is no way I can struggle to get 500 members with this big mouth of mine,” he said.
According to the new electoral law, parties will need to gather 3500 signatures from all 14 regions in order to register with the ECN.
Kauandenge, who gained himself a tag of ‘party hopper’, had stints in the past with Nudo, DTA, Republican Party and the defunct Democratic Movement for Change (NDMC).