Association of Localised Interests (Asoli) president Josef Kauandenge has announced that the association has now become a political party pending a formal registration submission to the Electoral Commission of Namibia.
Kauandenge made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday.
Asoli will now be known as Asoli Progressive Party.
He said the Namibian Constitution’s article 17 guarantees every Namibian the right to form or join any political party of their choice.
“One does not need to register a party as a right, but need to register a party for election purposes only. We thus have a right to form a political party and soon we will submit our documents with the Electoral Commission of Namibia to register officially, with a view to participate in the upcoming elections in 2029, which will be a formality as we are already registered as an association,” he said.
Asoli was formed last year following Kauandenge’s departure from the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo).
Kauandenge said as a party Asoli will address many social and economic problems that continue to affect people on a daily basis and which most political parties fail to address.
He said the official launch of the party will be announced at an appropriate time, and will provide a broader policy direction which the party intends to take and explain why it adopted a progressive ideology.
The transition, he said, follows the poor performance of Asoli in the Windhoek and Swakopmund local authority elections last year, when it failed to win any seats.
Despite this, Kauandenge said, Asoli’s potential for growth was evident as it managed to beat some old and well-established political parties.
Kauandenge added that he believes the organisation will be a force to be reckoned with in the 2029 elections.
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