Presidential and parliamentary elections in Namibia (November 27)

According to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), the Ovaherero and Nama are skeptical about the presidential and parliamentary elections in Namibia on November 27. Even though the South West People’s Organisation (SWAPO) – which has been in power since 1990 – could now lose its clear majority for the first time, the consequences of the genocide (1904-1908) continue to have an impact, leading to profound injustice. Laura Mahler, STP expert on genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, stated: “The long-term administration of the recently deceased President Hage Geingob had negotiated the so-called Reconciliation Agreement, which is still highly controversial even in Namibia. The recognized representatives of the Ovaherero and Nama were not even involved in these negotiations, even though it was all about the genocide crimes against their peoples. Nobody believes that this will improve if the SWAPO party wins another election. However, this issue is scarcely addressed in the election programs of other parties, so that the Ovaherero and Nama can at best be cautiously optimistic about significant changes should other parties come to power.”

Around 100,000 people got killed in the genocide committed during the era of the German Empire from 1904 onwards. “Thus, the Ovaherero and Nama are even more underrepresented in the Namibian electorate. They have little political clout to give voice to their demands. So far, none of the SWAPO governments managed to ensure equal representation of the country’s ethnic groups,” Mahler added.

During the election campaign, SWAPO has always relied on the narrative of having liberated Namibia from the South African mandate rule. However, this narrative ignores the liberation struggles of the Ovaherero, Nama, Damara, and San against the German colonial power. For the younger population of Namibia – especially for those who were born after the country became independent – the liberation narrative has hardly any meaning. “They are interested in pressing issues such as high unemployment, poverty, and a lack of investment in the sectors of education and health. The inequality in Namibia is a consequence of, among other things, the fact that large parts of the land are still in the hands of a few white landowners. The opposition parties have taken up the still unresolved issue of land redistribution. However, many Namibians are accusing them of using this issue merely as an election campaign tactic, without actually planning to work towards real change,” Mahler reported.