Some 893 643 eligible voters out of a total of 1 241 194 registered voters cast their votes on 28 November, thus 72%. This high turnout of voters could have been higher by at least 10% were it not for technical hiccups and inefficiency at a number of polling stations as the electronic voting system was applied for the first time in Africa. In general, the elections were conducted in a calm atmosphere with international observers declaring them free, fair, credible and transparent.

Sixteen political parties and nine presidential candidates contested the election. In October 2014 the National Assembly decided that the number of members of parliament should be increased from 72 to 96 to accommodate some present members of parliament who otherwise would have lost their seats. The reason for the increase was the ruling SWAPO Party’s commitment to gender equality. 50% of its nominated candidates were female. The president as well as members of the National Assembly are elected according to a proportional electoral system.

Only ten of the sixteen participating parties will be represented in the new National Assembly. SWAPO Party gained 80% of the votes cast, the highest percentage since independence, and is represented by 77 members in the National Assembly. The Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), revived by its enigmatic and youthful leader H. Venaani, has become the main opposition party, although it managed to obtain only five seats. It replaces the Rally of Democracy and Progress (RDP) as official opposition which is only represented by three MPs.

New in Parliament is the Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP). It identifies itself as communist with a socialist programme. It obtained two seats. The newly- founded Namibian EEF had a bad start and is not represented in the NA. The other newcomer with one seat is the Rehoboth-based United Peoples Movement, which advocates Christianity and more rights for minority groups.      

The presidential candidate, Dr Hage Geingob, nominated by the SWAPO Party, gained the highest support ever in presidential elections in Namibia, more than his own party. Altogether 86.7% of all voters voted for him. For the first time a person belonging to the Damara-speaking and not to the Oshivambo speaking community, which forms the majority of the Namibian population, has been elected as the president-in waiting. The new NA and President will be inaugurated on 21 March 2015.

One of the reasons Geingob obtained more support than his party, is that the Damara-based political party United Democratic Front (3 seats) recommended its voters to vote for a Damara-speaking presidential candidate. Ethnicity still plays a role in Namibian politics.

Geingob has a dynamic personality, is more part of the population than any of his predecessors, is a practical-minded person, academically well-qualified, has the support of a great part of the younger generation, is open to innovation, firm on discipline, accommodative, but can also be absolute in applying his mind.

His new team will include representatives of all ethnic groups in Namibia, as well as technocrats, and representatives of the new black middle class. The new Minister of Finance will probably be the very capable Tom Alweendo, the present director of the National Planning Commission, who in turn will probably be replaced by an outstanding economist Johannes Gawachab presently General Manager of Old Mutual in Namibia. Geingob is much concerned about stability, sustainable development, innovation and overall progress.

Written by Dr Gerhard Tötemeyer

Editorial note from managing editor Stacey Farao:
We have an interest in Namibia and the Namibian business community receives Insight and our various mailings. However, it is not often that we devote an Insight to the country. This particular Insight is justified by the presidential and national assembly elections which were held there last week and by the fact that Dr Gerhard Tötemeyer has contributed it. Gerhard Tötemeyer was born in Gibeon, Namibia, in 1935. He obtained his academic qualifications at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and pursued post-graduate studies overseas. He taught political and administrative studies at the Universities of Stellenbosch, Transkei, Cape Town and Namibia. He was also visiting professor at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. Soon after Namibia’s independence he was appointed to the First Delimitation Commission tasked to divide Namibia into regions, constituencies and local authority areas.  During 1992 – 1998 he served as Director of Elections in Namibia and conducted the first local authority, regional council, national assembly and presidential elections after independence. In 2000, President Dr. Sam Nujoma nominated him as member of Parliament. He was immediately appointed as Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government and Housing. He retired from Parliament in 2004. Thereafter he served on several para-statal boards and as vice-chairperson of the National Council of Higher Education in Namibia. Presently he is chairing the SADC Electoral Advisory Council.