By Hoandi !Gaeb

MARIENTAL – A heated debate is expected at the Swapo Party conference for Hardap Region slated for Saturday at Mariental.

The conference will elect one male and one female candidate to represent Hardap in line with the zebra-style representation proposed by Swapo.

Six candidates will contest two positions, namely, the men Karl Kisting, Willem Moller and Menthol Links; while Caroline Pieters, Olga Bok and Elizabeth Visser will contest the female position.

Swapo’s regional information and mobilisation coordinator, Alfred Wambo, told New Era that any of the candidates could emerge as winner as the process would be democratic and transparent.

However, only delegates who attended the regional conference in 2012 will be eligible to vote for the two candidates.

Governor of the Hardap Region, Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, is not in the race as she automatically qualifies as a member of the Central Committee and Politburo.

Wambo said the contest would be vigorous as all candidates want to join the Central Committee, an organ of the party that makes decisions between congresses.

He noted that at the same occassion a workshop would be held to train party agents for the forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

A total of 350 delegates, including all eight district leaders and assigned leaders to the region, will attend the conference, which will also look at the electronic voting system, conduct of members during the campaign period, resource mobilisation and application, and appointment of polling agents.

//Karas region held its elective conference last weekend where the governor Bernardus Clinton Swartbooi and Taimi Kanyemba sailed through the vetting process.