Swapo Congress Set for November

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By Kuvee Kangueehi Windhoek The Swapo Party Politburo has proposed the dates of November 30 to December 01 for the 2007 Swapo Party Congress to take place. At a politburo meeting on Friday in the capital the congress date was proposed, but it still has to be confirmed by the Swapo Party Central Committee which is expected to meet on July 27. There has been huge speculation since the beginning of the year over the date for the congress. The congress was supposed to take place in August but was postponed to allow the Congress Preparatory Committee to complete its work. The politburo also proposed that recently-appointed Swapo Party chief whip Hage Geingob and deputy speaker of the National Assembly Doreen Sioka be appointed as politburo members. Geingob is a senior party member. His political career started in 1963 at the age of 22. He has served the party in various capacities. One of the main highlights of Geingob’s political career was his appointment as Swapo’s elections director for the UN-supervised elections in 1989 and subsequently as chairman for the Constituent Assembly. Meanwhile, information and mobilization officer for the Swapo Youth League (SPYL) Elijah Ngurare has been nominated secretary of the SPYL for the upcoming congress of the ruling party youth wing. Ngurare is the only nomination, while the acting and deputy secretary Evelyn Nawases has been nominated for the deputy post. The congress of the SPYL is set for June 1 but the date has to be confirmed by the SPYL Central Committee. With the age limit of 35 for the SPYL, many prominent members such as Pohamba Shifeta and Saara Kuugongwela-Amadila are expected to lose their positions in the SPYL.