Nujoma to pick 10 MPs

PRESIDENT Sam Nujoma will appoint up to 10 people to the National Assembly next year, stamping his authority on, and playing a direct role in the formation of the future Government after he has stepped down.

The decision was confirmed at a Swapo Politburo meeting last week that kick-started the nomination selection process for the upcoming regional council and National Assembly elections. Nominations began on August 13 and will culminate in an electoral convention at the beginning of October.Swapo Secretary for Information and Mobilisation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah this week confirmed that the president of the ruling party would place 10 names on the list of 72 candidates for the National Assembly.The allocation of 10 seats is a long-standing Swapo rule meant to allow the State President to have a preferred core of people when forming his Cabinet.The Namibian Constitution requires that the President appoint members of Cabinet from parliament.”The 10 candidates to be appointed by the president [of Swapo], plus the six persons who the [State] President is entitled to appoint to the National Assembly by virtue of Article 46(1) (b) of the Namibian Constitution, would go a long way in enabling the President to constitute a Cabinet of his [or] her choice,” it says in the Swapo election procedures.Some party leaders are quietly questioning the wisdom of having Nujoma choose a significant number of candidates for parliament.The ruling party has made no provision so far for its presidential candidate, Hifikepunye Pohamba, to include his choice of Cabinet members if elected head of State in the November general elections.But Nandi-Ndaitwah said the Swapo president and his office will work closely with the vice-president.Pohamba, the Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, is the vice-president of Swapo.His position in the party, said Nandi-Ndaitwah, would make it easy for Nujoma and Pohamba to pick the 10 names together.”I don’t want to rule out any arrangement” that may see Pohamba hand-pick people, Nandi-Ndaitwah added.The politics of the belly are expected to dominate in Swapo between now and October, when the list of prospective parliamentarians is to be finalised.The eyes of many will be on former Minister of Foreign Affairs Hidipo Hamutenya who Nujoma fired unceremoniously in May ahead of the party’s special congress.Hamutenya was one of three nominees for Swapo’s presidential candidate.Nujoma let it be known during the campaign he was against Hamutenya, and alleged that Swapo’s leadership had been infiltrated by “imperialists and reactionaries”.These remarks were seen as a reference to Hamutenya.Hamutenya and his supporters will want to ensure that he remains in national politics by getting a place near the top of the list of candidates for the National Assembly.They will be hoping that Pohamba brushes aside Nujoma’s opposition and returns Hamutenya to the Cabinet.In 1999, Hamutenya was one among a number of top Swapo leaders that Nujoma excluded from his 30 handpicked candidates.The Swapo president’s selections were until then taken as the top of the rankings.Nujoma’s 1999 list was controversial and the names were eventually scattered throughout the final list of 72.But Nujoma will continue to play a major role in the future Government.As Swapo president until at least 2007 he will direct the way the party implements Government policies.Pohamba, a Nujoma lieutenant for decades, has tried to assert his independence, but has also made it clear that Nujoma, as the party’s head, will be boss.Last week, nominations for the National Assembly started with the 13 regions choosing five people each.The Politburo will vet them before two people are elected by each region.Nandi-Ndaitwah said all National Assembly members, 26 regional candidates and the President’s 10, would then be trimmed to 72 at the “electoral college”.The Politburo will rank the names.The party has also started picking candidates for the regional councils.Three people will be identified in each Swapo district [constituency], and will eventually be reduced to one after vetting by the Politburo.Among the criteria for election to high posts in Swapo is to have been a “loyal committed cadre” for at least five years with paid-up membership.Nominations began on August 13 and will culminate in an electoral convention at the beginning of October.Swapo Secretary for Information and Mobilisation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah this week confirmed that the president of the ruling party would place 10 names on the list of 72 candidates for the National Assembly.The allocation of 10 seats is a long-standing Swapo rule meant to allow the State President to have a preferred core of people when forming his Cabinet.The Namibian Constitution requires that the President appoint members of Cabinet from parliament.”The 10 candidates to be appointed by the president [of Swapo], plus the six persons who the [State] President is entitled to appoint to the National Assembly by virtue of Article 46(1) (b) of the Namibian Constitution, would go a long way in enabling the President to constitute a Cabinet of his [or] her choice,” it says in the Swapo election procedures.Some party leaders are quietly questioning the wisdom of having Nujoma choose a significant number of candidates for parliament.The ruling party has made no provision so far for its presidential candidate, Hifikepunye Pohamba, to include his choice of Cabinet members if elected head of State in the November general elections.But Nandi-Ndaitwah said the Swapo president and his office will work closely with the vice-president.Pohamba, the Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, is the vice-president of Swapo.His position in the party, said Nandi-Ndaitwah, would make it easy for Nujoma and Pohamba to pick the 10 names together.”I don’t want to rule out any arrangement” that may see Pohamba hand-pick people, Nandi-Ndaitwah added.The politics of the belly are expected to dominate in Swapo between now and October, when the list of prospective parliamentarians is to be finalised.The eyes of many will be on former Minister of Foreign Affairs Hidipo Hamutenya who Nujoma fired unceremoniously in May ahead of the party’s special congress.Hamutenya was one of three nominees for Swapo’s presidential candidate.Nujoma let it be known during the campaign he was against Hamutenya, and alleged that Swapo’s leadership had been infiltrated by “imperialists and reactionaries”.These remarks were seen as a reference to Hamutenya.Hamutenya and his supporters will want to ensure that he remains in national politics by getting a place near the top of the list of candidates for the National Assembly.They will be hoping that Pohamba brushes aside Nujoma’s opposition and returns Hamutenya to the Cabinet.In 1999, Hamutenya was one among a number of top Swapo leaders that Nujoma excluded from his 30 handpicked candidates.The Swapo president’s selections were until then taken as the top of the rankings.Nujoma’s 1999 list was controversial and the names were eventually scattered throughout the final list of 72.But Nujoma will continue to play a major role in the future Government.As Swapo president until at least 2007 he will direct the way the party implements Government policies.Pohamba, a Nujoma lieutenant for decades, has tried to assert his independence, but has also made it clear that Nujoma, as the party’s head, will be boss.Last week, nominations for the National Assembly started with the 13 regions choosing five people each.The Politburo will vet them before two people are elected by each region.Nandi-Ndaitwah said all National Assembly members, 26 regional candidates and the President’s 10, would then be trimmed to 72 at the “electoral college”.The Politburo will rank the names.The party has also started picking candidates for the regional councils.Three people will be identified in each Swapo district [constituency], and will eventually be reduced to one after vetting by the Politburo.Among the criteria for election to high posts in Swapo is to have been a “loyal committed cadre” for at least five years with paid-up membership.