Swapo regains resource-rich Erongo, ||Kharas

The ruling party has regained control of several resource-rich economic regions, including the Erongo, Hardap and ||Kharas regions, overturning gains made by opposition parties in the previous election.

This comes after the release of some of the 2025 regional council and local authority election results by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) last night.

Swapo mainly dethroned the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) in the Erongo region, while the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) lost ground after being disqualified from contesting in seven of its key local authorities.

In 2020, Swapo lost the Walvis Bay Rural, Walvis Bay Urban, and Swakopmund constituencies to the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC).

At the time, the ruling party also lost control of both the Walvis Bay and Swakopmund local authorities to the IPC.

According to preliminary ECN results, Swapo won all seven constituencies in the Erongo region, beating the IPC, which led the region for half a decade.

At the Swakopmund constituency, Swapo’s Victor Maswahu got 1 755 votes, while IPC candidate Louisa Kativa, who is also the incumbent constituency councillor, received 1 243 votes.

The IPC won the Swakopmund constituency twice in 2020 – in the regional elections as well as the by-elections when the party recalled Ciske Smith-Howard.

Swapo also won the Arandis constituency in the Erongo region, with 1 462 votes.

Michael Skini of the United Democratic Front (UDF) got 1 137 votes, while Profilia Iiyambo of the IPC got 780 votes.

‘SHOCKING’

IPC deputy president Trevino Forbes, who is also Walvis Bay’s outgoing mayor, last night said he is shocked at the preliminary results of Wednesday’s elections.

“We are still waiting for the final results to come, then you can call me and ask me that. There are no final results yet. I have never seen results like this before, ever, all over the country. It is shocking, to say the least,” he said.

He further ascribed the IPC’s defeat in the Erongo region to low voter turnout, especially among the youth.

A party insider at the coast attributes the IPC’s losses to Forbes’ move from the position of town mayor to regional council candidate, which was allegedly not explained to party members.

Another cause of the party’s failure is the restraining of Walvis Bay constituency councillor Tegako Donatus, the insider says. Donatus was arrested in September by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The party replaced him with little-known Johannes Tjali.

Five months ago, the IPC accused Swapo of offering some of its leaders in the Erongo region N$10 000 in cash bribes to lure them away.

They party also blames Swapo for infiltrating its structures.

‘SUIDE, MAAK VREDE’

Some Swapo leaders say the ruling party appears to be riding on president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaiwah’s popularity to fuel its comeback.

In 2015, Swapo, backed by president Hage Geingob and his promises of prosperity, reclaimed several southern towns from opposition control.

That honeymoon, however, lasted only five years, as Geingob’s pledges remained unfulfilled.

The party suffered heavy losses in the 2020 local authority elections, ceding two key regions – ||Kharas and Hardap – to the LPM, led by Bernadus Swartbooi.

||Kharas is a strategic region, home to some of Namibia’s largest oil discoveries, according to international oil companies.

Swapo has now regained control of the area.

In 2020, the LPM, as the new kid on the block, won seven of the eight constituencies in the Hardap region.

The 2025 results show that Swapo has won the ||Kharas region’s seven constituencies, namely: Keetmanshoop Urban and Rural, Karasburg East and West, Berseba, Oranjemund and !Nami-#Nus.

Similarly, Swapo has won all eight constituencies in the Hardap region. Swapo’s coordinator for the ||Kharas region, Matthew Mumbala, says the voters in the south felt let down by promises made by the LPM in 2020 and chose to return to the ruling party camp.

He said for years, the ||Kharas Regional Council operated without a management committee tasked with driving development initiatives and budgeting for the region, which was unprecedented during Swapo’s tenure.

“The LPM spent most of the time during their reign in court, instead of driving development for the people. How do you expect to uplift the livelihoods of people, which is what you promised them, but you are just in court?”

Swapo’s coordinator for the Hardap region, Joplin !Gontes, says the defeat the ruling party suffered after the 2020 elections forced it back to the drawing board.

“We did not sleep. We worked day and night to regain our voting members. People were also disappointed in other parties, because at times it seemed there was more conflict than peace and harmony – more discord than development,” !Gontes says.

LPM spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa yesterday said the party would not comment until the final results are out.

SWAPO OUT, INDEPENDENTS IN

Although the ruling party made a comeback in the coastal and southern regions, it failed to unseat two independent candidates in north-eastern Namibia.

One of them, Rundu Rural constituency councillor Paulus Mbangu, is a former Swapo Youth League leader and protégé of prime minister Elijah Ngurare.

Paulus won the constituency of over 12 400 people in 2020, and repeated that success this week, defeating Swapo candidate Matamu Mbangu. Paulus received 3 057 votes, while Matamu Mbangu garnered 459.

In the 2020 regional council elections, Swapo won five constituencies in the Kavango East region, continuing its long-standing dominance in the region. According to results announced yesterday, Swapo won in the Ndonga Linena, Rundu Urban and Ndiyona constituencies.

Petrus Kashumali, an independent candidate from Mashare constituency, with close to 20 000 people, has now won that constituency. Mashare is the third-largest constituency in the Kavango East region, according to its population.

Speaking to The Namibian yesterday, Kashumali said he knew he would win the election.

“We worked for it. We went out, we campaigned. We went to every village, and we used all the strategies we know when it comes to campaigning,” he said.

Kashumali said he was Paulus’ campaign manager in 2020, helping deliver him as councillor for Rundu Rural.

“This time around, having Mbangu close by helped, even though we did not campaign together much because he was also busy in his constituency. But in maybe four or five villages, we campaigned together,” he added.

Kashumali said he resigned from Swapo to run as an independent candidate.

“We don’t like what is happening. The way Swapo identifies candidates . . . the candidates don’t undergo scrutiny to determine whether they are fit for the position of councillor. As someone in the constituency who knows the candidates, you know the person is not capable,” he said.

“I felt I was not convinced to have him as my councillor, so I decided to stand against him. We need people who are tested. Everyone must be convinced that the person given a position is going to deliver.”

Political commentator Ndumba Kamwanyah says the results show the Kavango regions can no longer be viewed as Swapo “voting cows”.

“The independent candidates’ performances have dealt the party a blow. That suggests people have realised they cannot only vote out of loyalty to the party. People have realised that Swapo candidates who were entrusted did not deliver, that is why those men and women decided to contest.”

Kamwanyah says the two Kavango regions have long been considered the backbone of Swapo, but this election has challenged that perception.

“The Kavangos are no longer the voting cows of Swapo. These election results are a vote of no confidence in established political parties,” he says.

Kamwanyah says Mbangu’s strength in the Rundu Rural constituency is not surprising.

“It’s not just because of politics, but because of the services he has delivered to his people. The community has rewarded him,” he says.

Kamwanyah notes momentum for independent candidates in neighbouring constituencies.

“Kashumali in Mashare is Mbangu’s neighbour, because their constituencies share borders. They had joint campaigns. It looks like Kashumali will be declared the winner. We still have to wait, but it looks like he is winning,” he says.

– Additional reporting Ellen Albertz and Ester Mbathera

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