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Thursday, October 2, 2003 - Web posted at 8:33:05 GMT By-election result 'points to demise of DTA' CHRISTOF MALETSKYTHE DTA of Namibia were the main losers yesterday as Swapo took control of the Windhoek West constituency, polling more than half of the 5 300 votes cast during Tuesday's election. |
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Swapo's Sophia Shaningwa collected 2 714 (51,2 per cent) of the votes against 1 150 votes (21,7 per cent) for the second-placed Congress of Democrats (CoD). The Republican Party (RP) was third with 979 votes (18,4 per cent) while the DTA collected only 458 or 8,6 per cent of the votes. The DTA had controlled the constituency until Henk Mudge resigned three months ago to reactivate the RP. While there was only a 30 per cent turnout, it was a slight increase on the 25 per cent of voters who went to the polling booths in 1998. Yesterday, a disappointed DTA Secretary General McHenry Venaani said opposition parties would need to join together if they were to have any hope of challenging Swapo's dominance. "The result heralded one thing and that is that the opposition parties can no longer afford division. The leaders must bow their heads and the opposition must come together. Otherwise Swapo will become a de facto ruler and we will have a one-party state. Let us do it in the interest of the people," Venaani told The Namibian. RP candidate Carola Engelbrecht said the new party had not expected to win. "We mostly concentrated on reactivating the RP nationally and did not have the time to explain our policies in detail to the voters. In that light, we are surprised with the result. It was a good performance," she said. Venaani felt that support for the RP had already peaked. "That is the worst damage that they can inflict on the DTA. Windhoek West is the only place where they have support," he charged. "We will have to see. I feel sad about what is going to happen to the DTA," responded Engelbrecht. Even though they came in second, the Congress of Democrats expressed disappointment. Spokesperson Tsudao Gurirab attributed it to the low turnout of voters and too many candidates. "Any low voter turnout would be in the interest of Swapo. People who disagree tend to stay away from the polling stations," he said. Gurirab suggested that some voters had also been confused about the constituency's boundaries with people in Khomasdal and Cimbebasia not even aware that they could vote. As the constituency was called Windhoek West, some voters thought that only people from that suburb had the right to vote, he added. However, the CoD regarded the outcome as an indicator of how political parties would perform in the upcoming elections and a sign that the DTA was a "party on its deathbed". "We stand ready to provide the second party leadership," he said. Swapo campaigner Uazuva Kaumbi said the opposition had yet to see the best of the ruling party. "We did a low-profile campaign and used minimum machinery. The next elections, we will go to town," he boasted. Kaumbi was not concerned about the 30 per cent turnout. "We should not read much into it. In most countries by-elections are not taken seriously by many people. It was a low profile by-election," he said. Engelbrecht said the RP's participation was a "testing of the water" and they planned to go full steam ahead with their preparations for the upcoming national elections. "Now we know which areas to concentrate on and we have a year to prepare," she said. Director of Elections Phillemon Kanime blamed the low turnout on poor campaigns by the political parties. "It was an extremely poor turnout. People were not mobilised very well," he said. Engelbrecht differed saying that people stayed away because of complacency. "They think everything is OK and they have no reason to vote," she said. When Mudge won in 1998, the DTA collected 62,8 per cent while Swapo's Eliphas Shipanga had 36,5 per cent of the 3 146 votes. |
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