Opposition-voting soldiers unsettled Geingob
Kapofi warns politicians to leave soldiers alone
The late president allegedly feared for his safety because a number of his army troops did not vote for him in 2019.
Late president Dr Hage Geingob reportedly felt discomfort during his last tenure as the country's first citizen due to the 2019 special vote, when a huge number of military personnel chose not to vote for their commander-in-chief (CIC) during that year’s presidential elections.
At the time, his popularity amongst the electorate had dropped sharply, from securing 87% of the presidential vote in 2014 to 56% in 2019.
The relationship between the executive branch and the military has always required a careful balancing act, but according to one of Geingob's advisors at the time, the president feared for his safety during his second term and felt isolated from his troops.
This was confirmed by defence minister Frans Kapofi during an exclusive interview with Namibian Sun, when asked to explain his ministry’s decision to ban the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) from setting up polling stations within army bases.
'Difficult situation'
When the preliminary results from the 2019 special vote in the presidential elections were made public, many within the military ranks had chosen to vote for Geingob’s closest challenger, Dr Panduleni Itula, who at the time ran as an independent candidate.
“In 2019, when a good number of soldiers did not vote for the president, he was concerned about his safety,” Kapofi, who at the time served as the home affairs minister, explained.
According to Kapofi, Geingob allegedly said: “As a CIC, I have soldiers who did not vote for me. How do I address them? This is a difficult situation”.
Kapofi said, in response, “we managed to convince him that there is nothing to fear."
He added: “We need to understand where he was coming from because he is human after all, and it is generally expected that the allegiance of the military will be to their commander."
The defence minister said the practice whereby soldiers vote before anyone else “exposes them”.
“ECN was told not to operate on the military premises, but they went and set up a station just a few metres from Osona, while we all know that there are no civilians in that area. That is why the soldiers were allowed to vote in towns so that they cannot be singled out,” he said.
He quipped: “I do not know what their [ECN] problem is.”
“We had valid reasons why we did not want voting stations on military premises, because we did not want a repeat of 2019, as it creates a wedge between the president and the soldiers that he must command," Kapofi explained.
"Soldiers must be protected by universal suffrage and their votes must be a secret like anyone else,” he added.
Leave the soldiers alone
Commenting on Kapofi’s position, ECN chairperson Dr Elsie Nghikembua said the commission communicated all its plans to the defence ministry.
“If there were any concerns, they [the defence ministry] would have pointed it out,” Nghikembua told reporters at a press conference last week.
Kapofi also said the ministry has noticed a trend in which political actors target the military with their political campaigns.
“We have seen people campaigning by targeting the army by promising them promotions; this is criminal, and it is dangerous for the nation. What if you make promises and you do not win the elections? You are basically inciting the soldiers,” he argued.
He cautioned: “Soldiers must be left alone by all means and they should never be politicised. Those targeting soldiers with their political campaigns must stop.”
#NamibiaDecides2024
At the time, his popularity amongst the electorate had dropped sharply, from securing 87% of the presidential vote in 2014 to 56% in 2019.
The relationship between the executive branch and the military has always required a careful balancing act, but according to one of Geingob's advisors at the time, the president feared for his safety during his second term and felt isolated from his troops.
This was confirmed by defence minister Frans Kapofi during an exclusive interview with Namibian Sun, when asked to explain his ministry’s decision to ban the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) from setting up polling stations within army bases.
'Difficult situation'
When the preliminary results from the 2019 special vote in the presidential elections were made public, many within the military ranks had chosen to vote for Geingob’s closest challenger, Dr Panduleni Itula, who at the time ran as an independent candidate.
“In 2019, when a good number of soldiers did not vote for the president, he was concerned about his safety,” Kapofi, who at the time served as the home affairs minister, explained.
According to Kapofi, Geingob allegedly said: “As a CIC, I have soldiers who did not vote for me. How do I address them? This is a difficult situation”.
Kapofi said, in response, “we managed to convince him that there is nothing to fear."
He added: “We need to understand where he was coming from because he is human after all, and it is generally expected that the allegiance of the military will be to their commander."
The defence minister said the practice whereby soldiers vote before anyone else “exposes them”.
“ECN was told not to operate on the military premises, but they went and set up a station just a few metres from Osona, while we all know that there are no civilians in that area. That is why the soldiers were allowed to vote in towns so that they cannot be singled out,” he said.
He quipped: “I do not know what their [ECN] problem is.”
“We had valid reasons why we did not want voting stations on military premises, because we did not want a repeat of 2019, as it creates a wedge between the president and the soldiers that he must command," Kapofi explained.
"Soldiers must be protected by universal suffrage and their votes must be a secret like anyone else,” he added.
Leave the soldiers alone
Commenting on Kapofi’s position, ECN chairperson Dr Elsie Nghikembua said the commission communicated all its plans to the defence ministry.
“If there were any concerns, they [the defence ministry] would have pointed it out,” Nghikembua told reporters at a press conference last week.
Kapofi also said the ministry has noticed a trend in which political actors target the military with their political campaigns.
“We have seen people campaigning by targeting the army by promising them promotions; this is criminal, and it is dangerous for the nation. What if you make promises and you do not win the elections? You are basically inciting the soldiers,” he argued.
He cautioned: “Soldiers must be left alone by all means and they should never be politicised. Those targeting soldiers with their political campaigns must stop.”
#NamibiaDecides2024
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