PDM ‘dissidents’ elbowed to the periphery
Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani has selected his top 10 candidates who will represent the party in parliament - notably leaving out Hidipo Hamata who, alongside Charmaine Tjirare, dragged the party to court in 2020.
Hamata ranked 27th on the party’s parliamentary list, while Tjirare is in a distant 96th. PDM currently has 16 seats in the National Assembly, its highest tally since 1994.
After the 2019 National Assembly elections, Tjirare and Hamata, who were on the original and gazetted list of PDM candidates for parliament, were removed from the final roster and replaced with persons who were not on the gazetted list.
The pair dragged the party to court and won. After their court victory, four other PDM members who were affected by the same issue, Yvette Araes (now 36th on the new overall list), Maximalliant Katjimune (10th as a presidential nominee), Reggie Diergaardt (127th) and Mike Venaani, were sworn in as members of parliament, replacing six party members who were never on the gazetted list.
While others have seemingly fallen by the wayside, Katjimune, one of the key current lawmakers for PDM, has been included on the list of 10 nominees by party president Venaani. Also on this list is freelance journalist and Venaani's personal assistant, Sonja Smith, who is 11th on the party’s overall list.
Meaningful change
In a statement yesterday, Smith said for the last few years, she has worked closely with the party. "I experienced first-hand the important role PDM plays in the National Assembly by representing the interests of all Namibians. I have further understood all policies of the party and the meaningful change the movement wants to make in our country. This has resonated with me on a higher level, hence my decision to fully join PDM in making Namibia great. I am indeed ready to bring all my skills and experience to the already vibrant PDM team,” she said.
Also on Venaani’s list of nominees is his spokesperson Roberto Dirkse and Hamlet Luboni, who ranked 13th and 19th on the final list respectively. Other presidential appointments are Winnie Moongo (second on the overall list), Inna Hengari (fifth), Elma Dienda (15th), Linus Tobias (17th), Felicia Motinga (21st) and Benson Katjiriova (23rd).
The top 10 on the party’s overall list are: Venaani, Moongo, Ricky Vries, Rosa Mbinge-Tjeundo, Hengari, Nico Smit, Sydney Ndumbah, Geoffrey Mwilima, Jennifer van den Heever and Katjimune.
The party hosted its electoral college on Saturday at the Gateway Centre in Windhoek.
Honourable or horrible?
Addressing the party, Venaani implored members to remain humble throughout the voting process and to focus on being servants of the country rather than thinking about status.
"It's one thing to want to be on the list, but can you? Do you have what it takes? This is a season to inspire. You should ask yourselves: What have I done to deserve this title? People want to have titles, and they even want the president to call them honourable. Honourability is to serve the downtrodden in society. My friend, you can choose whether you become an honourable or a horrible," he said.
Hamata ranked 27th on the party’s parliamentary list, while Tjirare is in a distant 96th. PDM currently has 16 seats in the National Assembly, its highest tally since 1994.
After the 2019 National Assembly elections, Tjirare and Hamata, who were on the original and gazetted list of PDM candidates for parliament, were removed from the final roster and replaced with persons who were not on the gazetted list.
The pair dragged the party to court and won. After their court victory, four other PDM members who were affected by the same issue, Yvette Araes (now 36th on the new overall list), Maximalliant Katjimune (10th as a presidential nominee), Reggie Diergaardt (127th) and Mike Venaani, were sworn in as members of parliament, replacing six party members who were never on the gazetted list.
While others have seemingly fallen by the wayside, Katjimune, one of the key current lawmakers for PDM, has been included on the list of 10 nominees by party president Venaani. Also on this list is freelance journalist and Venaani's personal assistant, Sonja Smith, who is 11th on the party’s overall list.
Meaningful change
In a statement yesterday, Smith said for the last few years, she has worked closely with the party. "I experienced first-hand the important role PDM plays in the National Assembly by representing the interests of all Namibians. I have further understood all policies of the party and the meaningful change the movement wants to make in our country. This has resonated with me on a higher level, hence my decision to fully join PDM in making Namibia great. I am indeed ready to bring all my skills and experience to the already vibrant PDM team,” she said.
Also on Venaani’s list of nominees is his spokesperson Roberto Dirkse and Hamlet Luboni, who ranked 13th and 19th on the final list respectively. Other presidential appointments are Winnie Moongo (second on the overall list), Inna Hengari (fifth), Elma Dienda (15th), Linus Tobias (17th), Felicia Motinga (21st) and Benson Katjiriova (23rd).
The top 10 on the party’s overall list are: Venaani, Moongo, Ricky Vries, Rosa Mbinge-Tjeundo, Hengari, Nico Smit, Sydney Ndumbah, Geoffrey Mwilima, Jennifer van den Heever and Katjimune.
The party hosted its electoral college on Saturday at the Gateway Centre in Windhoek.
Honourable or horrible?
Addressing the party, Venaani implored members to remain humble throughout the voting process and to focus on being servants of the country rather than thinking about status.
"It's one thing to want to be on the list, but can you? Do you have what it takes? This is a season to inspire. You should ask yourselves: What have I done to deserve this title? People want to have titles, and they even want the president to call them honourable. Honourability is to serve the downtrodden in society. My friend, you can choose whether you become an honourable or a horrible," he said.
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