In the 2019 elections, the dominance of the Swapo Party came to a slumbering halt when the liberation movement lost its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, with this loss of hegemony further compounded when its presidential candidate at the time, late president Hage Geingob (may his soul rest in peace) managed to secure only 56.25% of the vote, down from the emphatic 86.73% he amassed in the 2014 presidential election. 

This marked the end of Swapo’s two-thirds majority dominance in Namibia and flourished in a new era for our young democracy. This loss of hegemony trickled down in the subsequent 2020 regional and local authority elections, where Swapo lost all Part 1 municipalities and a significant portion of regional and local authority power in the central and southern parts of the country. 

The loss of Swapo’s electoral and political hegemony in the 2019 and 2020 elections represents a step in the right direction for our democracy. One party dominance of liberation movements, particularly within the African context, has proven to be an antithesis to development, accountability and transparency. A status quo where Swapo commands a supermajority over the instruments of power at national, regional and local level is untenable, and must not be allowed to rear its dangerous head
again.

There has been attempts by some quarters, especially within Swapo, that’s aimed at swaying the electorate into believing that the ruling party has renewed itself and deserves a return to a two-thirds hegemony come 27 November. The electorate should reject this narrative with the contempt it deserves. Swapo has not renewed itself. In fact, it is currently engulfed in toxic factional battles that often spill over into the State apparatus, hampering the developmental question in general and service delivery in particular. 

The ruling party has demonstrated no serious commitment to resolving the challenges related to poverty, inequality, and unemployment. Namibia has an abhorrently high unemployment rate, compounded by one of the highest levels of youth unemployment in the world. Multidimensional poverty remains high and persistent, and the question of inequality remains unanswered, with our Gini coefficient hovering at around 59.1%. These are clear-cut, evidenced based indicators that we cannot afford a return of a Swapo majority after the 27 November elections. 

Notwithstanding these factors, there are glaring realities as to why we must never return Swapo to a majority, much less a two-thirds majority in our modern-day democratic dispensation. It is evident that the ruling party used its majority to bulldoze amendments to the Constitution and other legislations that were solely aimed at advancing its political ends and looting, no matter the implications. 

One distinct example of this abuse of Swapo’s amendments is to the Marine Resources Act, which ultimately facilitated the Fishrot scandal and the looting of our resources. 

Therefore, we must make the right choice when we vote on 27 November. Do not return Swapo to a majority. The opposition in Parliament has proven that there is a Namibia beyond Swapo, and voters should grab this clear-cut alternative with both hands. 

*Maximalliant T Katjimune is the Deputy Chief Whip of the PDM Parliamentary Caucus in the National Assembly.