With less than 11 months to go before Namibia heads to the polls, youth leaders from various political parties have vowed to go on a serious civic and voter education drive to address voter apathy.
Their commitment comes hot on the heels of a report by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) that raised concerns about a declining voter turnout ahead of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
A worrying factor for the ECN is the continued decline in interest of the youth casting their votes.
This year’s electoral contest is expected to pit Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah against opposition leader McHenry Venaani, her former comrades Panduleni Itula, Bernadus Swartbooi and land activist Job Amupanda.
Economist Mike Kavekotora (Rally for Democracy and Progress), unionist Evilastus Kaaronda (Swanu), businessman Epaphras Mukwiilongo (Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters), businesswoman Ally Angula, politician Apius Auchab (United Democratic Front), sociologist Utjiua Muinjangue (National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo)), veteran politicians Lukato Lukato (National Democratic Party) and Henk Mudge (Republican Party) as well as Hewat Beukes of the Workers’ Revolutionary Party, are all expected to feature on the packed ballot paper in November.
In 2019, 11 candidates ran for the presidency, while 15 political parties contested the National Assembly elections.
There are, however, fears that as is the case with most democracies, elections do not deliver the kind of political leaders people want and need. This is because the best amongst the populace usually shy away from political leadership due to negative stereotypes about politics, or feel they would rather focus on business, executive positions or academia.
But if a week in politics is long, then the next 10 months can easily be equated to eternity.
Diagnosis
Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) secretary Ephraim Nekongo said his party will soon present its election manifesto, which demonstrates its commitment to ensuring young people form part of the decision-making processes.
“We are aware of the regrettable youth unemployment rate, hence our commitment to ensure we address this through various deliberate interventions. Our presidential candidate, honourable Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, is on record that she is ready to work with the youth in her administration.
It is her conviction that young people are the backbone of our nation. Hence, she wants them at the forefront of providing solutions and advice to address the challenges faced by the country, particularly by young people. Ours is, therefore, to send a message of hope through tangible action by proving to young people that the Swapo Party-led government has taken note of their challenges, and is ready to address them. We henceforth appeal for young people to register and vote for the SWAPO Party and its Presidential candidate, come the 2024 general elections,” Nekongo said.
Josef Kauandenge, the secretary general of Nudo, attributed the low turnout of youth voters to the absence of the youth representation in the political leadership.
“For the youth to get involved in politics, they must be energized; they must feel a sense of belonging. But how can this happen if we don’t see youthful faces amongst the top leadership of political parties?” he asked rhetorically.
Kauandenge thus urged political parties to empower and elect youthful leaders into top leadership positions to attract youth electorates.
The seasoned politician-cum-musician recently declared his interest to contest for the Nudo presidency.
He said Nudo will try to bring youthful voices to the fore at their upcoming intra-party congress.
That watershed congress is slated for April. It is expected to see Kauandenge square off against incumbent party leader Muinjangue and erstwhile Okakarara constituency councillor Vetaruhe Kandorozu.
“We have concerted programmes devised for a period of five years to groom and mentor political activists. We have started such a programme for the past five years, where we deliberately targeted young people, coached them into understanding what party politics is, and getting them involved as well,” Kauandenge continued.
On her part, LPM youth command leader Duminga Ndala attributed voter apathy to a lack of political awareness and consciousness.
“It is imperative that political parties engage in such programmes to maximise our campaign on social media platforms. We live in a technological era, where social media has captured the hearts of especially young people. There is a high unemployment rate in the country as well as a housing crisis. Political parties should offer pragmatic solutions on how to address these crises,” the outspoken Ndala said.
Meanwhile, Julia Nekwaya, the acting Popular Democratic Movement Youth League (PDMYL) leader pointed to what she termed “political illiteracy” as one of the chief contributors to voter apathy.
“Most of the young people are not informed about their power as voters, and being the catalysts of the change they want to see. It is important that the ECN and various political parties work towards lobbying and educating young people on their role in elections,” she said.
Nekwaya added: “There is a need for a hands-on approach to civic education in schools and in social settings to help mobilise them to participate politically, and to develop the necessary internal political efficacy that leads to political participation. The way the communication is done must align with how young people communicate, for example social media, mainstream media and visual communication.”
While acknowledging the youth demographic as the backbone of a healthy democracy, she stated that the PDMYL will continue providing civic and voter education during mobilisation and restructuring activities.
This would arm citizens with the necessary knowledge and understanding of their rights and responsibilities, while also embracing innovative strategies.
“These initiatives have been designed to reach diverse segments of the population, including the youth (particularly first-time voters), white farmers, and marginalised communities” she added.
Numbers don’t lie
The ECN’s 2022/2023 annual report, which was submitted to the National Assembly late last year, indicates a growth in a voting age population in Namibia, with 1 348 532 eligible registered voters, of whom 370 826 are registered for the local authority elections. However, the gap between registered voters and eligible voters continues to grow.
The annual reports reveal that for the Presidential and National Assembly elections, voter turnout declined from 97% in 1989 to 61% in 2019.
As for the Regional Council and Local Authorities’ elections, voter turnout has dropped below 50% from 81% and 82% respectively in 1992, to 38% and 43% in 2020.
As if this was not enough, the 2022/2023 performance assessment reports on the by-elections held in the Swakopmund, Moses //Garoeb and Okaku constituencies also shows a huge decline in voters’ turnout.
The annual report showed that although there were 37 406 eligible registered voters for the Swakopmund by-election, only 9 974 cast their votes, representing 26.7%. The Moses //Garoeb constituency by-election held in January 2022 only attracted a paltry 4 822 voters out of 41 197, representing 11.7%.
The report furthermore revealed that there were 10 920 eligible register voters in the Okaku by-election, but only 4 485 cast their votes, representing 41.07%.
The ECN then pointed to the lack of identification documents, especially for people in remote areas, as one of the contributing factors to voter apathy.
In addition, the community decried the lack of service delivery by their political leaders, particularly constituency councillors.
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