No absolute majority at Swakopmund

No political party has won an absolute majority on the Swakopmund municipal council following Wednesday’s local authority elections.

This paves way for a coalition leadership at the town.

The Swakopmund election results announced by the Electoral Commission of Namibia on Saturday shows that Swapo has secured four seats after receiving 6 531 votes, gaining one additional seat compared to the previous council.

However, opposition parties collectively hold a majority of six out of 10 council seats.

The Independent Patriots for Change failed to retain its previous three seats, securing only two after receiving 3 545 votes.

The Swakopmund Residents Association maintained its two seats with 2 175 votes, while the United Democratic Front retained one seat with 1 361 votes. The Landless People’s Movement also held onto its single seat with 584 votes.

The Popular Democratic Movement, Republican Party, Body of Christ Party, National Unity Democratic Organisation, Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters and Affirmative Repositioning did not secure any seats.

Once sworn into office the parties will determine the leadership of the next council, including the mayoral and management committee posts.

Coalition talks among the opposition parties are now expected to shape how the next council will function and who will take political control.

DISCLAIMER: This is a rewritten and corrected version of the earlier article. It has been updated to reflect the accurate distribution of seats in the Swakopmund local authority results. It also clarifies that Affirmative Repositioning did not participate in the Swakopmund elections.

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