OPUWO – The DTA of Namibia is optimistic it will make significant inroads in the presidential and National Assembly elections on Friday.

DTA vice-president Kazeongere Tjeundo said his party would continue to rule Kunene’s northern constituencies, namely Opuwo and Epupa.

He says the DTA will spread and strengthen its dominance in Kunene after it held successful political campaigns in the north-western region.

“This time around we campaigned all over the region and not just in our strongholds. The mistake we made in the past was to ignore the areas where we had support, while neglecting other areas. I must admit that our campaigns were very narrow in the past,” confessed Tjeundo. He also downplayed the defection of one of the DTA’s most prominent members, Chief Hikuminue Kapika of the Kapika Royal House in Epupa, in July this year to the ruling Swapo Party. He said the move would not have any impact on the party’s dominance in the northern parts of  Kunene Region.

Kapika joined  Swapo Party from the DTA in July along with 314 of his subjects.

More subjects are said to have since defected to Swapo in support of their chief.

Describing the defection as one which had “made little impact on DTA”, Tjeundo said he was confident the DTA would garner a large number of votes from Kapika’s subjects in Epupa and the region in general.

“Chief Kapika never made a difference in the party. He left with his little group to Swapo but we also managed to receive huge numbers of Swapo supporters during the campaigns. Although his departure with the group has dented our numbers, the arrival of Swapo members to the DTA has replaced the loss,” Tjeundo said yesterday in an interview with New Era.

Tjeundo said the party’s nationwide campaign would boost its performance in the national polls.

“We were all over, from Aussenkehr to Oshakati and the response was great. The decision to campaign in areas where we got little or no votes during past elections will pay off on Friday,” he said.

Nampa in July reported that during the welcoming ceremony Kapika said he joined Swapo because his community had allegedly turned against him and intended to dethrone him.

Kapika also said the DTA had oppressed him.

By Mathias Haufiku