Elections: Motion to scrap forcing civil servants to resign

Renewed calls have been made to amend a section of the Namibian Constitution that prohibits public servants from running for public office.Article 47 demands that public servants and existing members of the National Council, regional councils or local authorities resign from these positions before making themselves available for election into public office. This comes about a year after the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) called for the same, insisting that the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) misinterpreted the provision and that an official should only resign once duly elected.The party found itself in a bitter legal battle after it sent members on its original elective conference list to parliament, and not those on its gazetted list.Not what forefathers wanted National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) secretary-general Joseph Kauandenge, who had to resign from his City of Windhoek councillor position in order to stand for elections for the National Assembly, this week tabled proposed constitutional amendments. According to him, the provision threatens to suffocate Namibians’ right to stand for elections when they turn 18. More importantly, he cannot imagine this was the intention of the fathers of the Namibian Constitution, he said. “I had the unfortunate opportunity to feel how this article can really discriminate against some Namibians when I was forced to resign as councillor in 2019 for me to be able to stand as a candidate for parliamentary elections. “There were other capable Namibians across the political divide who could have been elected to serve this parliament with distinction who withdrew their names from the list, while others took a gamble and resigned from their positions,” he said. Unconstitutional He stressed that Article 47 is a draconian, inhumane and unconstitutional provision and went on to add that it goes against the very basis of international human rights law.“It is a given that... should anyone take Article 47 to the Supreme Court, it will be declared unconstitutional,” Kauandenge said. “The framers and drafters of the constitution could not possibly have deliberately inserted that provision to discriminate against a particular section of our citizens and took away their inalienable right to freely participate in the elections and to be elected to public office,” he said. Kauandenge asked parliamentarians whether they will wait until someone one day challenges the provision in court, or whether they will act now.He also urged them not to drag out the debate on this matter, taking months to discuss it, but to act swiftly to “enjoy the benefits of independence that has brought about the right to participate freely in elections”. jemima@namibiansun.com

Elections: Motion to scrap forcing civil servants to resign

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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Elections: Motion to scrap forcing civil servants to resign

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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