Cousins butt heads in today's Guinas by-election
Over 4,000 eligible voters are expected to participate in today’s Guinas Constituency by-election.
The election follows the passing of former Guinas Constituency Councillor Elias Martinus on 21 October last year. Only two political parties, Swapo and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), are contesting the seat. Moses Khumub will represent Swapo, while Fransiscus Khumub is running under the LPM banner. Notably, the candidates are cousins.
According to Ester Hipangelwa, the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN) Oshikoto regional electoral officer, all preparations for the by-election have been completed. “Everything went according to plan. The materials were already sent to Tsumeb. We have nine teams—five fixed and four mobile. There are 18 police officers deployed, 45 polling officials, and five on reserve,” Hipangelwa confirmed. Voting is scheduled to begin at 07:00 and end at 21:00.
Swapo Stronghold
Guinas Constituency has traditionally been a Swapo stronghold in presidential, national assembly, and regional elections.
In the 2020 regional council elections, the late Elias Martinus secured 1,268 votes for Swapo, while Pinehas Heita of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) received 95 votes.
In the 2024 presidential and national assembly elections, Swapo’s presidential candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, garnered 2,156 of the 3,490 votes cast. Other presidential candidates, including IPC’s Panduleni Itula, LPM’s Bernadus Swartbooi, and Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani, received 568, 504, and 91 votes, [email protected]
The election follows the passing of former Guinas Constituency Councillor Elias Martinus on 21 October last year. Only two political parties, Swapo and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), are contesting the seat. Moses Khumub will represent Swapo, while Fransiscus Khumub is running under the LPM banner. Notably, the candidates are cousins.
According to Ester Hipangelwa, the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN) Oshikoto regional electoral officer, all preparations for the by-election have been completed. “Everything went according to plan. The materials were already sent to Tsumeb. We have nine teams—five fixed and four mobile. There are 18 police officers deployed, 45 polling officials, and five on reserve,” Hipangelwa confirmed. Voting is scheduled to begin at 07:00 and end at 21:00.
Swapo Stronghold
Guinas Constituency has traditionally been a Swapo stronghold in presidential, national assembly, and regional elections.
In the 2020 regional council elections, the late Elias Martinus secured 1,268 votes for Swapo, while Pinehas Heita of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) received 95 votes.
In the 2024 presidential and national assembly elections, Swapo’s presidential candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, garnered 2,156 of the 3,490 votes cast. Other presidential candidates, including IPC’s Panduleni Itula, LPM’s Bernadus Swartbooi, and Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani, received 568, 504, and 91 votes, [email protected]
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