Opposition trounced

Swapo councillors are once again set to dominate town councils and municipalities, after yet another runaway victory in the local authority elections. Barring Otjinene and Okakarara, preliminary results indicate that the ruling party will dominate council seats at over 50 local authorities in the country. In the Omaheke Region, Nudo won both the Otjinene and Aminius constituencies in the regional elections - a feat that has also been repeated at local authority level. DTA president McHenry Venaani claimed at the weekend that his party will now be represented by 40 councillors countrywide. In the previous elections, the DTA only emerged with 16 local authority councillors. Although the Electoral of Commission of Namibia (ECN) did not publically announce the local authority election results through the media, all indications are that Swapo will retain its grip at local authority level. The voter turnout in urban areas was quite low compared to rural areas, which recorded a turnout of over 40%. The recently proclaimed town of Oniipa, as well as Omuthiya, Outapi, Okahao and Tsandi, were all uncontested, meaning Swapo candidates were confirmed as local authority councillors. In Windhoek, Swapo managed to win 12 seats on the 15-member council, with the RDP, Nudo and the DTA each winning a single seat. Swapo also won all eight town councils in Hardap. At Mariental, Swapo won six seats, while the DTA won the remaining seat. Gochas saw Swapo winning three seats, while the DTA and the CoD each won a single seat. Swapo won four seats at Aranos, while the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) came second by winning two seats and the DTA won one. At Stampriet, confirmed results indicated that the ruling party has won all four seats on the town council, with the DTA getting the remaining seat. Gibeon also delivered the same result, with Swapo gaining four seats and the DTA one. However, at Kalkrand, Swapo won four seats, with the RDP winning a single seat. Tight competition was evident at Rehoboth, where Swapo managed to win four seats, while the United People’s Movement (UPM) won three seats. At Grootfontein, Swapo won five seats, while both the DTA and All People’s Party (APP) received a single seat each. In //Karas, five Swapo councillors will occupy six seats on the Lüderitz Town Council, with one DTA candidate getting the remaining seat. With Swapo receiving 1 593 votes in the Opuwo local authority elections, the ruling party has won four seats, while the DTA, who received 1 504 votes, managed to win three seats. Five seats were allocated to Swapo, while the DTA and United Democratic Party (UDF) each obtained one seat on the Okahandja Town Council. Swapo also won six out of ten seats on the Swakopmund Municipality, with the DTA, the Swakopmund Residents Association, the UDF and Nudo each getting one seat. Swapo will once again dominate the Walvis Bay Municipality with eight seats, while the UDF and the DTA will each occupy a single seat. At Henties Bay, Swapo won three seats, while the UDF won two seats, with the Henties Bay Civic Association garnering 266 votes to win themselves a single seat on the town council. At the controversial Omaruru Town Council, Swapo will be represented by four councillors, while the UDF will have two councillors. The DTA, who received 291 votes, will have one representative. The Berseba local authority was also won by Swapo, with three seats. In 2010, the DTA scooped the majority of votes and occupied three seats on the council, compared to Swapo’s two councillors. STAFF REPORTER