After almost two months of canvassing for support in the regions, various Swapo camps are beaming with confidence that their candidates will emerge victorious when the ruling party goes to congress next week.
With less than nine days to go before over 700 delegates descend on the capital, Windhoek, to among others elect the party’s top leaders, New Era engaged proxies in the different camps to gauge the mood ahead of the decisive week that lies ahead.
While the campaign rules were clear that no factions would be allowed at this year’s congress and process leading up to the penultimate event on the Swapo calendar, candidates and their supporters silently formed groupings, without necessarily making public pronouncements.
What is clear, however, is, incumbent party vice president (VP) Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has surrounded herself with a team composed of party bigwigs.
The same goes for her competitor, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, while fellow VP contender and environment minister Pohamba has steered clear of factionalism.
Yesterday, the man who has elected to face his competitors solo, defended his position.
According to Shifeta, his candidature was well received by delegates as he traversed each region, attempting to convince them that he is the right man for the job.
“My candidature was well received in the central committee and across all party structures in the country, including the party wings and affiliates,” Shifeta said.
He hastened to add the process was not without hiccups.
“Intimidation, misinformation, non-compliance to the rules and patronising prevailed throughout the campaign with the aim to confuse and limit freedom of choice among delegates.
“Some stakeholders, including senior party leaders at the national and regional level, did not adhere to campaign rules as adopted by the central committee,” Shifeta lamented.
In his eyes, the playing field was not level.
Allegations are rife that the incumbents, who are in charge of the party machinery, used it to their advantage and turned a blind eye when campaign rules were thrown out the window.
“The playing field was not levelled as players were also referees in many instances. Staged walkouts were done mostly by non-delegates and this trend was tolerated throughout the campaign against the rules,” Shifeta added.
But this has seemingly not dented Shifeta’s mettle.
“Yes, I believe I will win… Delegates should make their choices consciously free from intimidations, misinformation and patronage,” was his message to delegates.
Game over
Seasoned diplomat Kaire Mbuende steered Nandi-Ndaitwah’s ship as it navigated the regional terrain.
Speaking to New Era, the campaign manager was convinced that next week’s congress will simply be a certification of what already is a guaranteed victory for Nandi-Ndaitwah, who has affectionately come to be known as ‘NNN’.
“Congress has ended before it started. That’s the type of support she [Nandi-Ndaitwah] received. So it’s not a question of if [she will win], it’s a question of when [she will win],” an upbeat Mbuende said.
Overall, he said the campaign went smoothly and placed all contestants on the same pedestal to access congress delegates.
“Candidates had maximum exposure to delegates,” he said, adding their supporters never staged walkouts, as suggested in certain quarters.
“The delegates were escorting her after making her presentations… they were celebrating democracy,” he said.
If anything, Swapo leader Hage Geingob’s decision not to endorse his lieutenant, Nandi-Ndaitwah or any other candidate, only fortified their resolve, Mbuende responded.
“The endorsement [by the president] is a formality. We got a strong endorsement from the delegates, and by extension, the people of Namibia,” the 68-year-old diplomat-cum-politician said.
In fact, Nandi-Ndaitwah’s non-endorsement, earned her more support, as some delegates felt she was unfairly treated, unlike her predecessors who always had their superior’s blessing to ride on.
“We ran the campaign with meagre resources. But Namibians came on board, donating goats and cattle,” he said.
‘SKA’
This paper also caught up with National Planning Commission boss, Obeth Kandjoze, one of the main stewards in the Kuugongelwa-Amadhila (SKA) campaign.
He is convinced that his candidate did enough to win the hearts of the delegates, by providing superior logic and in-depth understanding of her vision for Swapo and the country.
“She was received exceptionally well for someone who hit the campaign trail late,” Kandjoze said.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila gained momentum with each region she visited to spread her gospel, Kandjoze boasted.
“There were occasions where it looked a bit uncertain but as we covered region to region, the confidence of the candidate I moved for, was actually rising at a fever pitch.
“The confidence grew. The message became polished. The delivery became super polished each time engagement happened. You would see it in the crowd, you’d feel it, you’d see and hear as you eavesdropped among delegates,” Kandjoze beamed.
According to him, the prime minister remained calm and collected, with her eyes fixed on the ball, even when her adversaries attempted to throw her off with an avalanche of intimidatory tactics.
All in all, he said, the internal campaign offered Swapo a window of opportunity to relaunch itself, albeit the organisational shortcomings that were exploited by some candidates and their supporters to advance their course.
He credited this to the PM’s ability to adapt and political resilience.
A classic example was when delegates in Erongo stormed out of the venue, shortly after Nandi-Ndaitwah’s presentation, who was heading to the north to attend a funeral.
The hall was almost empty, Kandjoze recalls.
“We sat in the hall for nearly two hours, waiting for delegates to come [before she could present]. I put myself in her shoes, asking myself ‘what goes through her mind?’ as she sat there.
“That was the moment where if you don’t have the strength of character, the resolve that you are committed to, if you have not been put through a similar psychosocial exercise that is designed to wear you down, maybe others would have quit [due to intimidation]. But she carried on regardless,” he narrated.
When all is said and done, Kandjoze is convinced that Kuugongelwa-Amadhila will clinch the VP post that could catapult whoever wins in pole position to become the country’s next head of state.
Caption: (Swapo) Down to the wire… Swapo supporters are confident their candidates will win in next week’s congress.
Photo: NawaZone