EDITORIAL: Lowering the presidential bar

With every Tom, Dick, and Harry recently raising their hand to run for Namibia’s presidency, the nation has begun to ask whether the bar has been set so low that anyone can envision themselves crossing over it to reach State House.

The election of Donald Trump to the presidency in 2016 fuelled the perception in America that anybody can become president. Trump is a reality TV celebrity who has publicly admitted to groping women and is being sued in court by porn stars and women he allegedly raped.

We can see why Americans would dare to dream of being president against this backdrop. However, we question where this thirst and notion that any Joe Blow can become Namibia’s president comes from. It’s an interesting discussion to have.

If our three presidents have not been guilty of lowering the threshold to the envy of every small guy in town, then our existing standards for running for president are selling dreams.

And while dreams are free, democracy itself is expensive. And so are the standards of the highest office in the land – at least on paper.

True, the Namibian presidency isn’t just for perfumed guys or those wearing liberation medals around their necks. But to fantasise, much alone contemplate, one must be worth their weight in gold and tick multiple boxes on a regular metric.