Ekandjo limps on with extraordinary congress demands

Swapo veteran and its member in the National Assembly Jerry Ekandjo says the party is going into the November election without a president due to, amongst others, politics of the belly and intimidation driven by its self-serving leaders in the central committee.

In a press statement issued on Friday, Ekandjo said the decision by the central committee to postpone the extraordinary congress to April next year – following the death of party president Hage Geingob in February – was both suicidal and a violation of the Swapo constitution.

He blasted the central committee for deliberately misinterpreting the constitution to bulldoze things in favour of the dominant faction in the party.

Ekandjo has been a fierce antagonist of the manner in which the affairs of the party are being run, but some have dismissed him as a sore loser who cannot accept the defeat his slate suffered at the 2017 party congress.

Demands made

Party vice-president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's supporters, who dominate the central committee, pushed for the congress to be postponed to 2025, fearing that holding it this year might wrestle the party candidacy in the general election from Nandi-Ndaitwah.

This concern arose following Geingob’s passing, which typically would have necessitated the election of a new party president, who automatically becomes the party's candidate in the November national presidential election.

“Surely, the central committee deliberately ignored the content and the importance of Article 15 (9) and decided to postpone the extraordinary congress to next year in a strategic calculation and hidden agenda of the central committee,” Ekandjo said.

“This calculation simply means, for the first time in the history of the Swapo Party, that the party shall remain without the president until 19 April 2025. It also means that the party will go into the general and presidential elections in November without the party president.”

Ekandjo has demanded that the central committee reverse all decisions taken at its meeting held on 9 March, where it was decided to postpone the congress to next year.

“The central committee must play the honourable and transparent game to call the extraordinary congress to elect the Swapo Party President in terms of Article 15 (9) with immediate effect. If there is a political will from the central committee, the extraordinary congress will take place within three days,” he said.

“It is our conclusion that failure to address the above demands [puts] the political future of Swapo Party at high risk. Swapo, as the ruling party, is likely to lose during the general and presidential elections in November. Swapo may experience unbelievable political [disaster], which might [make it] impossible to revert and make Swapo Party a ruling party again.”

Not afraid

Ekandjo also argued that since 2015, the ruling party has promoted tribalism and regionalism, experienced a lack of transparency and created a leadership vacuum where those in power are practicing politics of the belly rather than serving the masses.

He further stated that while many might be afraid to speak up, he will not be among those who are scared to stand up for the truth.

"We, the Swapo Party comrades, are very clear in our minds and we send a strong message to the central committee that they have totally violated the Swapo constitution, whether they like to hear the truth or not. They must also know that they were misled during discussions at their meeting, which made them take decisions that are totally outside of the Swapo Party constitution,” Ekandjo argued.

Attempts to get a comment from Swapo Party secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa proved futile, as she did not respond to text messages and her phone went unanswered.

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