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EDITORIAL: Intricacies of political coalitions

Cindy Van Wyk
Yesterday, Job Amupanda said he is back from the holiday, referring to his stint as mayor of Windhoek for the past 12 months. This was a damning admission that working through a coalition clipped his wings and that much has gone unachieved – especially when juxtaposed against the manifesto of his Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement.

Amupanda also admitted, essentially, that the coalition meant working with people whose ideologies are a country mile from one’s own. But for political convenience, the parties tied an unholy knot. It was, one could argue, an art of dominance and survival.

Coalitions are bad. A myriad of them failed spectacularly around the world and Namibia – which is getting its first real taste of one – is starting to feel the pinch.

In neighbouring South Africa, the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has become bedfellows with the lilywhite and neo-liberal Democratic Alliance (DA) in some local authorities such as Johannesburg, again purely for dominance and survival. It’s like mixing oil with water – they won’t gel.

Namibians need to be decisive in subsequent elections. The dangers of one-party dominance of a local authority has bred corruption and abuse in the past, but coalition politics have also birthed egos, intra-alliance rivalry and childish bickering. As a result, Windhoek has been stuck in first gear all year, because everyone wants to shine in their individuality, a non-starter attitude in any alliance.

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-06

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