Editorial: Stringent rules must be adopted for all parliamentary hopefuls

Voters have a tendency of paying little attention to the processes used by political parties to select their parliamentary candidates, often forgetting that these candidates are the ones who will be queuing up to enter the doors of parliament and formulate laws for the country.

It is perplexing how we expect quality lawmakers, yet we are not interested in the processes that deliver those lawmakers.

If you look deeper into the requirements that party members must meet to stand a chance of making it onto their respective party parliamentary lists, you will realise that quality and substance are often overlooked in favour of loyalty and those who have resources to donate to their party.

In Namibia, as long as members are in good standing with their party member fees, the doorway to parliament is wide open. There is little regard for any element that relates to delivering lawmakers who are qualified and experienced enough to lead the complex affairs of the Namibian nation.

Many of our laws do not speak to the socio-economic realities of the country anymore, simply because those charged with law reform and formulation have little understanding of what is required of them.

It is high time political parties put in place measures aimed at making sure that only the best candidates make it to parliament.

Party members must also start holding their parties to the highest standard of accountability and ensure that their party has stringent measures in place as to the type of leaders they field.