Itula: IPC the winner regardless of court outcome

Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) leader Dr Panduleni Itula remains confident that the party will emerge as a major force in Namibia’s political landscape, despite ongoing legal battles and his absence from the party’s parliamentary list.During an exclusive interview, Itula said regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court challenge, which he brought to have the presidential elections of November 2024 declared null and void, IPC will stand tall.“Whichever way it goes, whether we are going back running again or not, I am convinced IPC will still be the winner. We will still be the first party that has been in existence for four years, contested the national elections and become the official [opposition] party,” he said.However, he acknowledged that the fact he won’t be going parliament – despite Namibia’s Constitution not requiring the leader of the opposition to be a sitting MP – creates a grey area.“You may now, for the first time, find a leader of the official opposition, who only comes to parliament to respond to the State of the Nation Address or to respond to a bill by the prime minister, and not simply [as] a member," he explained."But you are still entitled to all of the other things. Not that that is important, because, as you see, we have got a dilemma as to how that is going to work. And that dilemma came about because, in Article 17, there&#039;s a provision that says that you can participate in the conduct of public affairs, whether directly, meaning as a presidential candidate, or through free and just representatives, meaning members of parliament,” Itula said.Since independence, the leader of the official opposition has always been a member of parliament, fully participating in parliamentary proceedings. However, with the IPC&#039;s dynamics, where the leader of the opposition is not an MP, there is ambiguity regarding his role and rights as party president, raising questions about the interpretation and application of Article 17.Free and fair electionsOn the ongoing Supreme Court and Electoral Court legal disputes, Itula raised concerns about the credibility of the electoral process, arguing that a free, fair and lawful election is essential to Namibia’s constitutional democracy.He highlighted IPC’s grievances over the legality of President Nangolo Mbumba’s extension of the election dates, stressing that the judiciary must ensure transparent elections.“Constitutional democracy means that a free, fair and credible law of conduct in an election is a critical ingredient of constitutional democracy. And what we are aggrieved by is the lack of a free, fair, credible and lawful election," he said."And although the court on Monday did not look at the massive information that was there in terms of evidence, what we concentrated on in this case, in terms of the IPC&#039;s case as it were, is the legality of the precedent to issue a second proclamation relating to the first proclamation," Itula explained. He said that, constitutionally, a president’s term is determined by a legitimate election outcome and that the court could either uphold the current results, call for a rerun, or issue directives affecting the process, including the financial implications of another campaign.Independence Day Looking ahead, Itula pointed out that should the Supreme Court order a rerun of the elections, the scheduled presidential inauguration on March 21 would not proceed. "The inauguration of a president in the parliament in Namibia is dependent on a free and fair, credible, lawful election conducted that would yield a president and members of the National Assembly. Then there would be an inauguration. Should, however, the Supreme Court order a rerun of the entire election, the 21st will become irrelevant."He added: "People may decide to have an Independence Day, but the term of office of the current or acting president and that National Assembly will terminate on the 21st, and thereafter there will be nothing at all. The court can come up with one or two things. They may decide, &#039;we will give you a rerun of the elections before the 21st, or we will give you 90 days in terms of Article 57 and Article 99 of the Constitution&#039;, in the absence of the president, including the president-elect. If that is the case, then we are looking at a May-June rerun,” he noted. jemima@nmh-hub.com.na

Itula: IPC the winner regardless of court outcome

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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Itula: IPC the winner regardless of court outcome

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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