EDITORIAL: Law designed to starve Namibian children

Namibians have for years called for the immediate swearing-in of a newly-elected president and lawmakers, as opposed to waiting four months to take office after being duly elected. What we have currently is a ticking time bomb, waiting to blow away the fabric that has held our society together for 34 years. The reason why we have not experienced any challenges so far is that there has been no change of guard, as far as the ruling party is concerned.

Swapo being constantly re-elected means there’s no paradigm shift, therefore waiting for four months for one Swapo leader to replace the other may not have been a big ask. But when Namibians one day democratically decide that change must happen, and those voted out continue to hold office for four months despite the clear message at the ballot that they are not wanted, this would be untenable.

Besides that situation, we also have a new scenario where those elected to parliament must resign upon being elected. According to the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, once results of the November election are announced, those elected to parliament must quit their regular jobs until they are sworn in next March.

Losing your job for four months - having wronged no one – is too severe a punishment for simply expressing an aspiration to lead. This new law is designed to starve innocent children or force them out of school because it doesn’t provide that those elected be sworn in immediately, both to lead us and be paid for that.