RUNDU - The All People’s Party (APP) say although they have retained their two seats in the National Assembly following the 28 November general election last year, the party’s poor performance was largely attributed to lack of funds. 

The party did not have the financial means to go all the way out during the campaign season, adding they will now focus on doing better in the local and regional authority elections slated for end of this year.  
Addressing the media at Rundu yesterday, APP president Ignatius Shixwameni said the party’s top leadership met at the weekend and reflected on the Presidential and National Assembly elections as well as operational challenges ahead of the local and regional authority polls.  

Regarding the last elections, Shixwameni said the leadership acknowledged that despite maintaining their two seats in parliament, they did not perform as expected due to various reasons. “The lack of funds, having started late with our campaign nationwide and some members decampaigning the party for various personal and other political reasons only known to them as well the manipulation of the final election results as noted by the delay in announcing the final results affected our performance,” he said. “The challenge now is to build and strengthen the party countrywide as a national political movement and prepare ourselves timely for the 2020 local and regional councils’ elections.” The APP received 14 664 votes in the National Assembly election, while its candidate received a paltry 3 304 votes in the presidential contest. Shixwameni yesterday told journalists that the party has instructed secretary-general Vincent Kanyetu to organise a national election review workshop to look into the party’s performance and plot the way forward. 

“After a critical review of all the factors, the leadership directed the SG, to organise a national elections review workshop to be attended by members of the Central Coordinating Committee (CCC) nationwide, and delegates from all regions to report on their performance and critically review our past campaign and performance,” he said.  

“This workshop will bring together all members of the central coordinating committee, all regional executive committees of the party and also those at constituency levels to make sure that we get at the heart of the analyses of our weak performance during the elections.”