The rise and fall of RDP

The battle for control of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) has intensified after a faction led by the party's vice-president Steve Bezuidenhout recently resolved to move a vote of no confidence in its incumbent leader Jeremiah Nambinga. The party is accusing Nambinga of poor leadership and that he is no longer upholding the values of the organisation such as unity, democracy, freedom, integrity, justice and social progress. The latest infighting within RDP is likely to weaken the party further. The RDP is already struggling for survival and looks set to lose relevance to voters should the internal bickering continue unabated. The party has had little influence on the local political landscape since the 2014 general elections where it failed to secure a respected number of seats in the National Assembly. This was compounded by the mass resignations of its founding leaders, including the late Hidipo Hamutenya, who returned to Swapo in August 2015. In the last elections, RDP could only secure three seats, which is a far cry from its electoral performance in 2009 when it won a total of eight seats. The party, like many other opposition parties in the country, is not organised and one can understand the frustration of its members. The party has simply abandoned its political principles and has proven over the years that it was not a worthy opposition compared to what the DTA has achieved under its youthful leader McHenry Venaani. The RDP vice-president is perhaps right to say that the leadership, of which he is ironically part of, has failed to exert influence on the national political scale. The party is struggling to carve out a clear niche of social justice and it will be interesting to see how this division will play itself out in the various constituencies. With all its challenges, Swapo is still playing in the hands of these failing opposition parties and if they remain this way, there will be no hope for a strong opposition in this country. God forbid that it suffers the same fate as the CoD, which is clearly now dead and buried.