Swapo: Divisions persist despite ‘unity’ campaign rules

Despite new campaign rules for its seventh ordinary congress, which were designed to restore unity amid widening divisions in its rank and file, dirty campaigns still characterised the build-up to the congress, which ended last night in Windhoek.Yesterday, a message circulated purporting that one of the vice-presidential candidates, Pohamba Shifeta, had quit the race and urged his supporters to rally behind his rival, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.The Shifeta camp immediately issued a brief notice, calling the information "fake news".Camps and factionsThose aligned with Shifeta and Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila were labelled the "corrupt alliance".Another message, painting secretary-general candidate Armas Amukwiyu as a Grade 10 school dropout, was also widely circulated yesterday.At the beginning of the campaigns, Nandi-Ndaitwah had publicly urged her supporters not to de-campaign her rivals in her name.Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah yesterday said: "Swapo is not united but a party at crossroads and on the verge of destroying itself. The camps and factions we are seeing at the Safari Hotel are signs that the division is deeper than what Swapo wants us to believe. We will see the intra-divisions escalate more and more after the election."Follow the rulesOn Friday, party president Hage Geingob tore into the media and analysts for pointing out divisions in the party.The party launched its internal campaign for the candidates running for the vice-president, secretary-general and deputy-general positions under strict new campaign rules that included a provision that all candidates must campaign together in front of delegates from each region.The rules were designed to curb the chaos, legal charades and deepened divisions that characterised its previous congresses, especially the 2017 one.Unintended consequencesHowever, according to Kamwanyah, the rules have resulted in unintended consequences and produced the opposite of what they were intended for."The rules were meant to create a stable campaign process, including not having camps and slates, but instead they have pushed candidates to be creative and inventive to circumvent the rules, therefore creating new forms of camps and dirty tricks to discredit each other," he observed.Candidates were not allowed to campaign through WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, press releases, radio and television interviews, and SMS against other candidates and were supposed to present a united front.All three vice-presidential candidates appeared separately on the Namibia Media Holdings television show, The Agenda, to lay out their ideas.Difficult timesAnother political analyst, Rui Tyitende, conceded that there is no shortage of disagreement and that these are challenging times for the most dominant political party since independence."Swapo has been severely wounded in the 2019 national and 2020 regional and local authority elections, and it appears to be a party that is in decline. President Geingob’s opening speech painted a utopian image of the current state of the party and country, as he did not provide an honest account of the current political climate within the party," he said."This year, Sophia Shaningwa and Tobie Aupindi acknowledged the divisions that permeate throughout the structures of the party as individuals jostle for power and influence. This seventh ordinary congress will not be any different. The political ghosts of Team Harambee and Team Swapo are still haunting the rank and file of the party."He also argued that the rules that were crafted to restore the party and instil unity have made no difference, as the nature of any political campaign that involves access to state resources will see individuals jostling for positions as if their lives depended on it.ReconciliationPolitical commentator Graham Hopwood said that it won&#039;t be easy for the party to close ranks and reconcile after this congress because the different camps have become so entrenched.However, he does not expect it to bring about the kinds of divisions that emerged after the 2004 extraordinary congress.After the 2004 congress, Swapo stalwart Hidipo Hamutenya ditched the party to create the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP)."Swapo will be conscious that they are two years away from a national election and so will do their best to present a united front post-congress. Also, the current disputes are not ideological, and it seems likely that Nandi-Ndaitwah and Kuugongelwa-Amadhila will find ways of reconciling and accommodating each other, whoever wins."jemima@namibiansun.com

Swapo: Divisions persist despite ‘unity’ campaign rules

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-26

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Swapo: Divisions persist despite ‘unity’ campaign rules

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-26

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