LPM eyes next elections
Plans for transforming the Landless People's Movement into a political party are at an advanced stage, founder Bernadus Swartbooi has confirmed.
Swartbooi, who was recalled from the National Assembly in July for saying at a public meeting in Keetmanshoop that he was “99.9% not OPO trading as Swapo”, resigned shortly afterward.
The LPM was established in 2001 as a student movement but was radicalised in 2016 when Swartbooi was fired as deputy lands minister after criticising the government's land-reform policy.
LPM will be an alternative to other political parties and nothing less, said Swartbooi, who had served as
//Karas regional governor, SPYL youth league information secretary and member of parliament.
“We have set up a technical committee to sort out things. We want to be an alternative, not just another opposition party,” he said.
Before leaving the ruling party, Swartbooi criticised it for failing to improve the lives of the Namibian people. Since then he has become a land crusader, touring the country to educate communities about their rights to land as well as ancestral land.
Political analyst Graham Hopwood says he is not convinced that Swartbooi's unwavering commitment to the land quest will pay off in the next election.
“They will have to shift, although not altogether, from the land issue to adopt a broad-based policy approach. There have been a lot of parties from the south but not much has come of them,” says Hopwood.
Another political commentator, Andrew Niikondo, believes that Swartbooi will have a stronghold in the south, where he was born, and that this support will land him a seat in the National Assembly.
“I am worried that he may not be able to make a big mark if he stands for the elections in 2018 but he would certainly stand a good chance if he waits until the following election,” Niikondo says.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia requires a political party to present a declaration signed by at least 500 members whose names appear on the national voter register.
This declaration must include the members' full names, voter registration numbers, and the regions and constituencies where they registered as voters.
Other requirements for registering a party include payment of a N$10 000 registration fee and submission of the party's constitution.
JEMIMA BEUKES
Swartbooi, who was recalled from the National Assembly in July for saying at a public meeting in Keetmanshoop that he was “99.9% not OPO trading as Swapo”, resigned shortly afterward.
The LPM was established in 2001 as a student movement but was radicalised in 2016 when Swartbooi was fired as deputy lands minister after criticising the government's land-reform policy.
LPM will be an alternative to other political parties and nothing less, said Swartbooi, who had served as
//Karas regional governor, SPYL youth league information secretary and member of parliament.
“We have set up a technical committee to sort out things. We want to be an alternative, not just another opposition party,” he said.
Before leaving the ruling party, Swartbooi criticised it for failing to improve the lives of the Namibian people. Since then he has become a land crusader, touring the country to educate communities about their rights to land as well as ancestral land.
Political analyst Graham Hopwood says he is not convinced that Swartbooi's unwavering commitment to the land quest will pay off in the next election.
“They will have to shift, although not altogether, from the land issue to adopt a broad-based policy approach. There have been a lot of parties from the south but not much has come of them,” says Hopwood.
Another political commentator, Andrew Niikondo, believes that Swartbooi will have a stronghold in the south, where he was born, and that this support will land him a seat in the National Assembly.
“I am worried that he may not be able to make a big mark if he stands for the elections in 2018 but he would certainly stand a good chance if he waits until the following election,” Niikondo says.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia requires a political party to present a declaration signed by at least 500 members whose names appear on the national voter register.
This declaration must include the members' full names, voter registration numbers, and the regions and constituencies where they registered as voters.
Other requirements for registering a party include payment of a N$10 000 registration fee and submission of the party's constitution.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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