… much stronger, non-tribal ruling party - analysts

WINDHOEK – Dr Hage Geingob retained his position as Swapo Party vice-president after securing 312 votes, ahead of fellow candidates Jerry Ekandjo who got 220 votes and Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana who secured 64 votes.

Elections at the Swapo Party Congress that started on Thursday last week began in the early hours of Sunday. At 06:00 prominent Namibian lawyer Sisa Namandje announced the results, to the eruption of applause and dancing by delegates inside the Safari Hotel conference hall and the outside crowd that waited patiently for the results to be announced. About 596 delegates voted.

President Hifikepunye Pohamba retained his position as Swapo Party president after he stood unchallenged. The position of secretary general went to Minister of Safety and Security, Nangolo Mbumba, who managed 352 votes against Utoni Nujoma’s 244 votes. Omaheke Regional Governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua was elected the deputy secretary general.
McLeod-Katjirua is now the only female in the top-four structure of the party after scoring 300 votes over Dr Abraham Iyambo, the Minister of Education, who garnered  285 votes.

“We have won. All of us in the Swapo Party have won. There are no losers here, only winners. We must therefore all rejoice in the victory of others, as we are all children of the same mother,” said a jubilant Pohamba immediately after the announcement of the results.
A couple of hours later at the Swapo Party headquarters Geingob gave his first press conference as re-elected vice-president, pledging to work with both Ekandjo and Iivula-Ithana. “I told Iivula-Ithana when she came to congratulate me that she will not be left out in the cold outside. We will be together. Ekandjo said he will support me,” Geingob indicated.

Ekandjo congratulated Geingob saying: “We are very much happy with the new leadership - the top four. We are very confident in them and we are proud of them, it’s a victory for Swapo and Namibians. We emerged more united than before, so we are very much happy. We will implement what the president has emphasised on unity. We will give them full support.”
Agriculture minister John Mutorwa said the “outcome reflects the will of the people, which is good for the country and democracy.”  
Fisheries minister Bernard Esau described the congress and the elections as “democracy at its best. The people have decided, they have expressed their wish that come 2014 where we are headed. The congress was excellent.”

Pohamba also paid special tribute to McLeod-Katjirua, the only woman amongst the top four leadership of the party. “We have planned well and I am glad. Let us now face the future with renewed commitment to unity of purpose as we continue witnessing the maturity of our party’s democracy,” said Pohamba when closing the congress.
Geingob thanked Pohamba calling him a “silent giant”, and founding president Sam Nujoma, for his win. “I am here today because of [Sam] Nujoma who made me vice-president of the party,” he said.
 
“I have won with 110 percent. You have worked very hard in all regions, especially the northern regions, a sign that debunked the question of tribalism of an Oshiwambo-speaking president. This victory came about because of the four northern regions. You all played a role. We are not here because we won the war. The war was not about opposition; it is just that we have proven that there is strong internal democracy in the party. We should start implementing and not attack and sabotage one another. That will not work in the Swapo Party. We have unity and peace in the party,” Geingob said.

Local political analysts have described the outcome of the congress as a sign of a much stronger ruling party with no tribal lines and a political party that has embraced diversity. “Unless something major happens, the Swapo Party has emerged stronger than before,” was the opinion of leading political academic Phanuel Kaapama of the University of Namibia.
Graham Hopwood, local political commentator with the Institute of Public Policy Research said the outcome also indicates diversity in the ruling party, even though the results did not reflect well on gender balance.

Dr Andrew Nikondo, a leading academic at the Polytechnic of Namibia said the outcome of the Swapo Party congress is a testament to the fact that “Swapo is not a tribal party but a Namibian party.”
Hopwood further said the outcome is an indication that most party activists do not share the “radical agenda” of the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL). “What is not clear at this stage is how the outcome would influence policy formation,” remarked Hopwood. Kaapama commended the “bottom-up approach” in choosing candidates. “Candidates were not only from the Politburo but from below,” Kaapama remarked, and added: “Many people thought and rightly so that Swapo was being put to a much bigger test. But, Swapo can emerge stronger than before from this process.”
• (Additional Reporting by Nampa)