All we want is our two-thirds majority back – Shaningwa

…Analysts say Swapo’s wish will not be fulfilled, predict ANC’s fate

Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa says the party’s main goal in the forthcoming elections is to regain its two-thirds majority.

Shaningwa, speaking at a Swapo gathering at Helao Nafidi in the Ohangwena region on Saturday, said a two-thirds majority will allow Swapo to pass laws without objections.

“All of us are instructed and directed, for that matter, to become the commissars, secretary generals and mobilisers of Swapo. To go and talk to your neighbours, boyfriends and girlfriends, wives and husbands and associates, that this is the time for Swapo to make sure we attain our two-thirds majority,” Shaningwa said. Shaningwa told those at the gathering it would be dangerous not to vote.

“Do not make a mistake, my friend, to not vote because it’s dangerous. Do not go to the road the day we will win if you did not vote.”

Shaningwa also called on Swapo supporters to vote for Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

“Let’s give the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) officials the work of counting non-stop Netumbo votes.

Our opponents must even bring Panado because this year , Netumbo’s votes will be too many to count.”

Shaningwa further said the party’s manifesto will be released in September.

Meanwhile, political analyst Rui Tyitende says Shaningwa’s comments are a sign of the “arrogance of power”.

He says Swapo failed to retain its two-thirds majority in the previous elections, after losing the Erongo region to opposition parties.

“That confidence she has is based on what? Is it based on the recent visit to Zimbabwe about how to rig an election or based on the recent meeting with the ECN officials, which was wrong? That was a bad image, because why were other parties not invited?”

Tyitende has labelled Shaningwa’s hopes of regaining a two-thirds majority as unrealistic.

He says it is up to the voters to decide.

“Swapo has failed to deliver the necessary services for the past 34 years.

Yes, they did a lot but failed to deliver critical services. They failed to address the issue of poverty and unemployment among the youth, and the gap between the rich and the poor keeps increasing,” he says.

However, Swapo is still popular and has loyal supporters, such as veterans, he warns.

“Swapo is still popular, make no mistake. Their 2019 failure does not guarantee their fate. What is killing them are internal issues of corruption, greediness and others, making it hard to regain public trust.”

It is possible that Swapo may face the same fate as the African National Congress (ANC) did during South Africa’s May elections, he says.