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Ekandjo opposes Swapo’s plans to endorse NNN

Jerry Ekandjo

Former Cabinet minister Jerry Ekandjo says Swapo’s repeated violations of its own constitution contributed to the party losing 12 National Assembly seats in last year’s elections.

Ekandjo says the planned endorsement of vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as party president at the upcoming extraordinary congress is another breach of the constitution.

Swapo’s extraordinary congress is slated for 28 February, where president-elect Nandi-Ndaitwah is set to be endorsed as the ruling party’s president. Ekandjo wrote to Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa this week, saying the decision to endorse the party president to the position of party president is unconstitutional.

“All the members of the central committee know very well that all the positions in the party structures, from the sections up to the central committee, politburo and even the top four are to be contested. They also know that the term “endorsement” is not one that is used in the Swapo party constitution,” said Ekandjo.

Ekandjo yesterday confirmed that the letter is authentic.

“I submit this letter to your office for the attention of all the members of the Swapo party central committee. I have learned through the media that at the last central committee meeting, a decision was made to hold the extraordinary congress towards the end of February 2025, with the sole aim of endorsing the party vice president to the position of the Swapo party president,” he said.

Ekandjo said the decision of the central committee is in violation of the Swapo party constitution and a complete disregard of the values and unity within the party.

“The central committee violated the constitution by not calling for the extraordinary congress within three months after the occurrence of the vacancy in the Office of the President, as stipulated by Article 15(9) of the party constitution,” he said.

Two days after former Swapo president Hage Geingob died, Ekandjo met with Shaningwa in her office to discuss the expectations of central committee members laid out in the party constitution.

“They know that any candidate for the position of the president has to be voted for as per rule 36.1 of the Swapo Party Rules and Procedures,” he said.

The veteran politician, who championed the recently gazetted anti-gay marriage legislation, said the positions must be contested on a gender balance basis. “The deliberate violation of the (Swapo) constitution has contributed to the losing [sic] of parliamentary seats and we do not want the same thing to happen again in future elections.”

Swapo’s National Assembly representation fell by 12 seats, after the party won only 51 seats in the 2024 National Assembly elections. The party currently occupies 63 out of 96 available seats – gained from the 2019 National Assembly elections.

“I, therefore, implore the central committee to adhere to the rules and regulations of the constitution and restore dignity to the Swapo party,” said Ekandjo.

Shaningwa said she was in a meeting and couldn’t comment on the letter. Questions sent to her were not responded to.

Analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah says Ekandjo’s latest letter means there is currently division within Swapo.

“That’s the dilemma they created and the hole they find themselves in. You are supposed to also have a vice president. How long are they going to leave the vice president position vacant? Until the next ordinary congress? Constitutionally, that is not the right procedure. They are making things complicated [by] not following procedures and structures,” he says.

Analyst Erika Thomas says there is a need to scrutinise why Ekandjo insists on pressing the issue. “Ekandjo was quiet when the former president Geingob ascended to Swapo power in a similar manner. Why didn’t he raise the concerns back then? Is it about gender issues? The persistence is not genuine. If we go back in history, we will come up with questions. He is not consistent. It seems like his concerns are not about the Swapo constitution. He must convince us that it’s not patriarchy behind his persistence,” she adds.

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