Omusati Is A Stain On The Standards Of Human Decency During Elections

OFFICIALS working on the Namibian political desk at the United Nations are without doubt drafting reports that may read: ‘Growing tension is threatening the country’s ability to hold free and fair elections, with supporters of the ruling party Swapo denying opposition parties, including the RDP, the right to campaign freely in Omusati, the home region of former President Sam Nujoma’.

Namibia has been in the business of holding free and fair elections for the past 19 years. Glowing reports, including some from the United Nations, have praised Namibia as a bastion of democratic development on a continent whose ability to hold free and fair elections has been abysmal.As a consequence, Namibians should not cease to emphasise that free and fair elections are essential for the stability of our democratic system.Similarly, as Namibians we should remind ourselves that the peace and stability we enjoy are not necessarily the result of goodwill on the part of one segment of our population or a hegemonic political party.Certainly, the ruling party has been a custodian of the affairs of the state, and in that role it has been tasked with holding the levers of power.Such a task gives the ruling party the important mandate of ensuring political stability through various institutions.However, much of the credit should also go to ordinary Namibians who have accepted a democratic order as the only means through which they air grievances and articulate their interests. In about two weeks, Namibians will cast their votes as a possible expression of confidence in the democratic order.Alas, it seems that our credibility and the electoral standards that we thought were entrenched are currently under threat.In the process, the image of our country as a fledgling democracy is also under threat.While there are minor media reports about disruptions of freedom of expression and association elsewhere in the country, the Omusati Region is unquestionably the enfant terrible of our electoral and democratic process.As a region, it is unashamedly defying the decency and fairness that has come to symbolise the conduct of Namibians during the electoral processes.Even if we applaud Government for being clear in its denouncement of the scandalous acts on the part of Swapo supporters, including RDP supporters carrying weapons to rallies, more must still be done by various actors to allow Omusati to become a tolerant region.Sadly, the Electoral Commission of Namibia has been operating below the radar and does not seem to take a proactive approach in dealing with the odious acts which by themselves already undermine the credibility of this body to run high-stakes elections.The leadership of this body has not been what we should expect during such troubling times.In the absence of leadership on the part of the ECN, the country should call on distinguished and moral citizens to speak to Omusati.The founding President would have been the perfect fit, not only because of the respect that he enjoys on the part of Namibians, but importantly Swapo, including the fact that he hails from this problematic region.Still, even if President Nujoma is neglecting his role as a moral leader who ought to speak and appeal to all Namibians during his time, he has a special responsibility to speak in a manner that is unequivocal about the stain that is Omusati. What is happening in Omusati is unacceptable to all peace-loving Namibians.It is exactly what we should not be as Namibians. It gives our country a bad name and image.It speaks badly about Namibians and our ability to live together, even when we differ. Thus, the silence of the founding President about his home region is potentially a stain on his stature as an elder statesman.Perhaps the ECN should make a public appeal to Swapo and the founding President to speak to the heartland of Swapo and urge Omusati not to act in a manner that undermines the values and ideals of a free society.In short, we should speak incisively to Omusati and encourage this region not to taint the democratic path, including the humanity that we have practised and shown toward each other during elections since Independence.Courageous democracies don’t have ‘no-go areas’ for opposition parties. Collectively, we should in the final analysis arrest the political idiocy that is rearing its nasty head in the Omusati region.* Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD fellow in political science at the University of Paris- Panthéon Sorbonne, France.