As Namibia approaches the 27 November elections, the question of a rerun for the presidential race is critical.
This is possible since more votes might be split amongst political parties and independent candidates, those who stood on their own.
The establishment of political parties such as the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) (a threat not only to Swapo, but other opposition political parties, and Affirmative Repositioning (AR), and various independent candidates have brought yet another new political concept to the Namibian political system.
Swapo had a bigger chance of winning elections without the existence of IPC and AR. The establishment of the two political parties compromised both the Presidential and National Assembly race for Swapo. This might result in no candidate obtaining more than 50% of the total votes to be cast, as required by the Namibian Constitution.
Article 28 (b) of the Namibian Constitution states that “If no person shall be elected as President unless he or she [has] received more than 50% of the valid votes cast and [the necessary number of ballots shall be conducted until such result is reached] if no candidate received more than 50% of the votes, a second ballot shall be conducted in which the two candidates who have received the most votes in the previous ballot shall participate, and the candidate who received the most votes in the second ballot shall be duly elected.”
Discussions surrounding the South African way of a coalition government have been ongoing now for a while. However, even if no candidate scores more than 50%, this won’t materialise, as the Namibian Constitution declared a different approach, as outlined in the above-mentioned Article.
This is the reason there may be a rerun for the presidential race after the November elections.
The earlier the better. It might be wise for the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) to have additional resources ready in case such an incident occurs.
It is no secret that more voters have given up on many political parties that have been in existence before the establishment of IPC and AR. This is due to their weakness in challenging the ruling party for more than 30 years of independence.
IPC and AR bring forth another level of mind change, in the way that people will decide to vote for their leaders in November. This means that it leaves room for more votes to be shared amongst these two political entities, bringing down the long-existing political parties, yet possibly not obtaining the required winning percentages.
Politically, IPC and Swapo earned more chances to win the November elections, yet the two parties’ support is influenced by other political parties such as the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and AR. Furthermore, the deregistration of Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) and the Christian Democratic Voice (CDV) parties adds another political consequence.
It is also quite interesting to note that Swapo has lost support after the party expelled Panduleni Itula, who shook the political system for the considerable first time in the history of Namibia when he stood as an independent candidate in the 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Additionally, some people are of the view that it is too early for Namibia to be headed by a female president. Female leaders are more likely to be suitable for the developed countries.
It is also an African concept and culture that men are more naturally suitable for leadership of the highest level, like heading the Presidency. All these analyses add to the rerun of the presidential race.
Let us be ready for whatever comes from the upcoming elections. Watch this space!
*Stefanus Nashama holds a B.A. Honours Degree in Public Relations and Political Studies from the University of Namibia. The views expressed in this article are strictly his own, and not from where he is employed.