Swapo wins Tsumeb poll

SWAPO Party candidate Lebbius Tangeni Tobias clinched Tuesday’s by-election at Tsumeb with a convincing 62,2 per cent of the total votes cast.

Voters were asked to choose a new Regional Councillor. Tobias was declared the winner after the ballot count was completed by about 15h00 yesterday.Congress of Democrats candidate Rainhold Hoaeb came second with a little over 19 per cent of the votes.In third place, UDF candidate Victoria Ochurus gained 12,9 per cent, while Nudo’s Robert Neidel rounded out the field of candidates with a little over four per cent.About 53 per cent of the constituency’s registered voters took part in the by-election, compared to a turnout of only 27 per cent in the last Regional Council by-election, in 1998.The result represents a slight decrease in support for Swapo, percentage-wise, compared to the previous test of electoral strength in the national elections near the end of 1999.In that year’s National Assembly election, Swapo received 64,3 per cent of the votes in the Tsumeb constituency:it had scored up to 78 per cent in previous elections.Yesterday’s figure is the lowest percentage of total votes that the ruling party has scored in the constituency since Independence.It now stands as being the party’s worst electoral performance at Tsumeb in 14 years, even if the party won with a comfortable margin.The CoD increased its share by slightly over one per cent, polling 19,1 per cent of the votes, compared to 17,9 per cent in the 1999 parliamentary election.The UDF, whose candidate received the endorsement of the party’s parliamentary coalition partner, the DTA, in the absence of a DTA candidate, experienced a more substantial improvement in its electoral fortunes.It increased its share from the eight per cent level which it managed in the 1999 National Assembly poll, to close to 13 per cent this week.The by-election was the second test of electoral support for Nudo since its controversial breakaway from the DTA last year.Whereas it drew six per cent in its first test during last month’s Grootfontein by-election, the party did not manage to draw much more than four per cent of the votes this time around.Full results, Tsumeb Constituency Regional Council by-election: Registered voters:±9 500 (*) Votes cast: 5 076 Poll percentage: ±53% (*) Rejected ballots: 74 (1,4%) Votes received: Lebbius Tangeni Boois (Swapo): 3 159 (62,2%) Rainhold Hoaeb (COD): 971 (19,1%) Victoria Ochurus (UDF): 656 (12,9%) Robert Neidel (Nudo): 216 (4,2%)(* Election officials were unable to give the exact figure at the time of going to press.)Tobias was declared the winner after the ballot count was completed by about 15h00 yesterday.Congress of Democrats candidate Rainhold Hoaeb came second with a little over 19 per cent of the votes.In third place, UDF candidate Victoria Ochurus gained 12,9 per cent, while Nudo’s Robert Neidel rounded out the field of candidates with a little over four per cent.About 53 per cent of the constituency’s registered voters took part in the by-election, compared to a turnout of only 27 per cent in the last Regional Council by-election, in 1998.The result represents a slight decrease in support for Swapo, percentage-wise, compared to the previous test of electoral strength in the national elections near the end of 1999.In that year’s National Assembly election, Swapo received 64,3 per cent of the votes in the Tsumeb constituency:it had scored up to 78 per cent in previous elections.Yesterday’s figure is the lowest percentage of total votes that the ruling party has scored in the constituency since Independence.It now stands as being the party’s worst electoral performance at Tsumeb in 14 years, even if the party won with a comfortable margin.The CoD increased its share by slightly over one per cent, polling 19,1 per cent of the votes, compared to 17,9 per cent in the 1999 parliamentary election.The UDF, whose candidate received the endorsement of the party’s parliamentary coalition partner, the DTA, in the absence of a DTA candidate, experienced a more substantial improvement in its electoral fortunes.It increased its share from the eight per cent level which it managed in the 1999 National Assembly poll, to close to 13 per cent this week.The by-election was the second test of electoral support for Nudo since its controversial breakaway from the DTA last year.Whereas it drew six per cent in its first test during last month’s Grootfontein by-election, the party did not manage to draw much more than four per cent of the votes this time around.Full results, Tsumeb Constituency Regional Council by-election: Registered voters:±9 500 (*) Votes cast: 5 076 Poll percentage: ±53% (*) Rejected ballots: 74 (1,4%) Votes received: Lebbius Tangeni Boois (Swapo): 3 159 (62,2%) Rainhold Hoaeb (COD): 971 (19,1%) Victoria Ochurus (UDF): 656 (12,9%) Robert Neidel (Nudo): 216 (4,2%)(* Election officials were unable to give the exact figure at the time of going to press.)