Namibians began voting yesterday in general elections expected to see the ruling South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) return to power, despite a tough challenge from a new breakaway party.
Scores of people formed long queues outside voting stations across the country before polls opened at 7am.
Nambian President Hifikepunye Pohamba is seeking a second term in office, with his main competition posed by the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP).
Former foreign minister Hidipo Hamutenya launched the new party two years ago, after he lost his bid to take over SWAPO following the retirement of liberation leader Sam Nujoma in 2004.
The two are the biggest of the 12 parties contesting the presidency, with RDP claiming about 250,000 supporters from an estimated 1.1 million voters.
DISSATISFACTION
Hamutenya was a popular figure within SWAPO, and he hopes to tap into dissatisfaction with the ruling party, which has ruled since independence in 1990.
“Everything is ready, the ballot boxes and election staff have been dispatched to all thirteen regions of Namibia,” Rukkie Tjingaete, spokesman for the Electoral Commission of Namibia told reporters on Thursday.
No major organizational or logistic hiccups had been encountered in the preparations for the country’s fourth elections since independence, he said.
Five years ago SWAPO took three-fourths of the vote for both president and parliament — the same result as the 1999 polls. The RDP doesn’t expect to win, but does hope to become the main opposition party.
Tensions between the two parties have occasionally turned to stonings and intimidation against the RDP.
But overall the election campaign has not been very energetic, with SWAPO praising roads, clinics and classrooms built in the past five years by its own government, but being vague about future targets.
FEES
Most opposition parties promise free education, appealing to the poorest Namibians whose children often drop out because they cannot afford the much-hated “school development fees.”
The opposition also say they will fight corruption and nepotism in government.
Voters receive one ballot to select a party for parliament and one to vote directly for presidential candidates.
Polling stations will reopen today for a second day of voting.
For the first time, counting will start directly after voting and results will be posted on the outside of each polling station. However, verified and final results will officially be announced several days later.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
RSS