Windhoek
The founding president of the Congress of Democrats (CoD), Ben Ulenga, stepped down as party president on Saturday.
CoD secretary-general Tsudao Gurirab confirmed Ulenga’s departure on Monday. “Yes he has stepped down and the vice-president, Vaino Amuthenu, has been appointed as acting president,” Gurirab said.
Ulenga informed the party’s leadership during a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting over the weekend that he was stepping down. NEC members would decide on a possible date for a convention and internal election to elect Ulenga’s successor at their next meeting, he said.
“I cannot comment on that, we agreed that the party will release an official statement and I will stick to that agreement,” Ulenga said briefly when New Era approached him yesterday to give reasons for his decision to stand down.
Amuthenu in a media release circulated yesterday thanked Ulenga for his contribution to the party: “The meeting bid a fond farewell to Democrat Ben Ulenga, who tendered his resignation as president of the party. The meeting thanked him for his contribution and [wished him] every success in his further endeavours,” Amuthenu wrote.
Ulenga, a former Namibian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, formed the CoD in 1999 after quitting the Swapo Party. The party started on a high note during the 2004 elections when it obtained five seats in the National Assembly, but the number of seats dropped to one during the 2009 polls.
Following a dismal performance during last year’s elections, the party is currently one of six registered political parties not represented in parliament. CoD scored a paltry 3,204 votes out of the nationwide total of 893,643 votes cast during the 2014 elections.
At Saturday’s meeting the CoD reviewed its performance in the 2014 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections and started preparing for the regional and local authority elections, slated for November.
“The meeting frankly deliberated on the shortcomings in the preparations and conduct of our 2014 campaign. The meeting, among others, pointed to the rudderless and late campaign, which did not serve the party well,” Amuthenu said.
Party leaders at Saturday’s meeting considered the precarious financial situation of the CoD and resolved to launch an aggressive fundraising campaign for a successful election campaign this year.
Noting the heightened interest in the land question as a result of the campaign led by the Affirmative Reposition group, “The meeting also expressed concern about the continued plight of a growing number of Namibians [and felt] that speedy access to land is one sure way of addressing poverty and pauperisation,” Amuthenu concluded.