This year is the year for elections in many countries in the Sub-Saharan region.
Many countries in the region are yet to go to the polls to elect their political parties of choice, as well as their leaders.
Namibia is not an exception.
Recently, South Africans held their elections. It seems the wind of change is busy sweeping across the region.
What one can learn from the election results from South Africa and other countries which recently participated in polls is that it is evident the masses have expressed their democratic rights. The election results in South Africa did not augur well for the African National Congress (ANC).
The ANC was and is still the movement that spearheaded the armed liberalisation struggle in South Africa, which resulted in the party winning the first democratic elections overwhelmingly.
For 30 years, the ANC was the ruling party. As the ruling party, the ANC used to shape and implement policies the party wanted, making laws unilaterally because of the majority in the decision-making structures in the country. Today, the picture is different. The ANC lost its majority of votes. One will ask oneself, ‘What could have gone wrong?’
South Africans were crying about corruption, poor service delivery, load- shedding and high youth unemployment – just to mention a few.
After the elections, ANC had to negotiate a coalition government.
This is a good lesson for countries going into elections in the upcoming months to emulate. Namibia is poised to go into elections in November 2024.
Political parties have, in earnest, started their political campaigns to garner votes to bring them into power. The electorate is geared to vote for their political party of choice, their leaders and their president. One wonders who will emerge victorious in the upcoming November 2024 elections.
It is true that Namibia cannot be compared to South Africa because the political dynamics of the two countries are not the same. However, countries going to elections have very good lessons to learn from the South African election results.
I am going to vote. My vote is my secret. I had the liberty to find out from some of the electorates what they see differently from previous election campaigns.
What I expect from political parties is to sell their programmes, rather than labelling one another. So far, political parties in Namibia are still selling programmes they did 34 years ago. So far, there is no uniqueness in all political party campaign programmes, and no clear plans are presented on how the social ills the country is facing will be addressed.
None of the political parties are telling the electorate how they will be accountable to the electorate if they come to power, and they do not meet their promises.
I want to see an action plan with clear deliverables from political parties.
It seems some of the electorates have high expectations from political parties – come 2025. Namibia has a very high youth population rate, according to the recently- released census results by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).
According to the NSA, the youth population constitutes 71.1% of persons younger than 35 years of age. The unemployment rate among youth is estimated to be around 38.4%.
These are very interesting dynamics to seriously consider when campaigning to win votes. Some people I spoke to regarding challenges in this country claim hospitals in Namibia are falling apart, and the education system leaves much to be desired.
Not to mention the health system, and the perceived or real corruption in the country.
Reading from sources from our neighbours in South Africa, and having followed their politics during the past couple of months, one can easily conclude that Namibia is faced with similar challenges to be addressed. The question to be answered is, ‘How and who is going to address these challenges in 2025?’
I am not a prophet, but I will leave this question to you to answer.
I agree that since independence, 34 years ago, notable changes have been seen in this country regarding the reform of the education and training system.
One should really applaud and congratulate the ruling party for what has been achieved during the past 34 years in many areas of development.
This is not something to be discarded or ignored. Coming to the election campaigns here, at home, there are claims that none of the political parties have yet convinced the electorate how the challenges in the country are going to be addressed.
It is said that all political parties are making the same empty promises.
What I gathered from some of the electorates I spoke to was that corruption was high on the agenda – whether perceived or real. People want to know how corruption, unemployment and the health system will be addressed. They want to see tangible plans. It is good and well to say we are going to do this and that. The big question remaining is, how?
That is what the youth want to hear – no political gimmicks. The youth, who make up the majority of this country’s citizens, are divided when it comes to the upcoming November 2024 elections.
Some are saying they will vote because of empty promises. There are those who say they will vote to bring about change.
While many claim to not know which political party to vote for because they are seemingly all the same, this tells you that the youth in this country are at the crossroads, and it is up to political parties to sell their programmes to this sector of the population if they are to remain relevant.
It is now a clarion call to all political parties to change their manifestos and campaign strategies to win the votes of the youth. The youth are the majority in this country, and should be considered future leaders of this country – whether we like it or not. Also, it is equally important for the youth to participate in the political affairs of this country if they want to see change.
It is, therefore, critical that the youth understand the political landscape and dynamics of Namibia.
By not exercising one’s constitutional right to vote, you are doing injustice to yourself. Come 2025, all Namibians are looking forward to a better country.
*Dr Raimo Ndapewa Naanda is a retired Training and Vocational Education and Training expert.