Get ready for the silly season
The year 2019 is a significant one for our country and it certainly looks like the silly season, normally associated with elections, is soon to be upon us.
Towards the end of the year, Namibia will be holding its National Assembly and presidential elections, with the ruling party Swapo once again expected to win by a landslide. In the last general elections in 2014, Swapo presidential candidate Hage Geingob received an overwhelming 87% of the vote, while the ruling party scored about 80% in the National Assembly elections, which amounted to 712 026 votes. As for the 2019 general elections, the race for the top office in the country will begin in earnest as soon as the Electoral Commission of Namibia declares the campaign period open.
Obviously a thorough voter-education process by the ECN, political parties as well as stakeholders such as the media and civic society will first have to be conducted to guard against high levels of voter apathy. It must be said that elections are the cornerstone of democratic governance and the political stability of any nation.
We have very few cases of disputed polls in our country, compared to other African nations where elections are at risk of violence.
However, we lack a real battle of ideas in our political dispensation, especially at a time when the ruling party has become somewhat too comfortable in the face of widespread corruption and injustices being meted out to ordinary citizens. Analysts have also warned that there is no serious attention given to job-creation, public healthcare and education, among other priority areas.
Ordinary people expect leaders from all political entities to engage in issue-based politics. There must be a serious battle of ideas, including the need for greater openness and accountability on the part of the government of the day.
This campaign period also calls for our highest level of tolerance and civility. The battle of ideas and effective service delivery is what matters, at the end of the day.
Towards the end of the year, Namibia will be holding its National Assembly and presidential elections, with the ruling party Swapo once again expected to win by a landslide. In the last general elections in 2014, Swapo presidential candidate Hage Geingob received an overwhelming 87% of the vote, while the ruling party scored about 80% in the National Assembly elections, which amounted to 712 026 votes. As for the 2019 general elections, the race for the top office in the country will begin in earnest as soon as the Electoral Commission of Namibia declares the campaign period open.
Obviously a thorough voter-education process by the ECN, political parties as well as stakeholders such as the media and civic society will first have to be conducted to guard against high levels of voter apathy. It must be said that elections are the cornerstone of democratic governance and the political stability of any nation.
We have very few cases of disputed polls in our country, compared to other African nations where elections are at risk of violence.
However, we lack a real battle of ideas in our political dispensation, especially at a time when the ruling party has become somewhat too comfortable in the face of widespread corruption and injustices being meted out to ordinary citizens. Analysts have also warned that there is no serious attention given to job-creation, public healthcare and education, among other priority areas.
Ordinary people expect leaders from all political entities to engage in issue-based politics. There must be a serious battle of ideas, including the need for greater openness and accountability on the part of the government of the day.
This campaign period also calls for our highest level of tolerance and civility. The battle of ideas and effective service delivery is what matters, at the end of the day.
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Namibian Sun
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