IPC spends nearly all N$22m subsidy on election campaigns

The party published an abridged version of its annual utilisation statement for the year ended 31 December 2025 in the Namibian and New Era publication this week.

The subsidy utilisation statement shows that from the N$22.8 million received, the IPC only had N$12 082 left, a sharp drop from the N$103 756 it had remaining in the 2024 financial year and the N$10 million reported in its audited financials for the same period.

Speaking to Network Media Hub (NMH) yesterday, IPC national general secretary Christine Auchumus explained that most of the party’s funds are directed toward election campaigns, which she described as the “principal object of a political party.” She added that the N$22 million represents the subsidy the party receives from the National Assembly for its 20 National Assembly seats. “Prior to 2025, the party only received N$2.4 million for the two seats we hold in the National Council,” Auchumus said.

She clarified that the low balance at year-end is fully compliant with the law. “The negative N$12 000 is the balance as at year end, which expenditure is governed by the Electoral Act. The Act restricts subsidy funding from being utilised for profit-making activities. All subsidy funding has been utilised in compliance with the provisions of the Act. There is no animosity with regard to expenditure as it is all accounted for and in accordance with the requirements of the law,” Auchumus said.

The IPC, which emerged as a significant player in the 2020 elections, will earn roughly N$22 million annually—or about N$1.1 million per seat—for its 20 National Assembly seats. The party’s two National Council seats add another N$2.2 million annually.

The 2025-2026 Namibian Budget projects that over the three financial years starting with 2025-2026 to 2027-2028, more than N$552 million will flow to political parties in parliament. If the same projection is extended to cover the five-year period of 2025-2030, which coincides with the sitting period of Namibia’s eighth parliament, over N$921 million will have been disbursed to political parties by the end of the 2029-2030 financial year.

A 2023 statement showed that the party’s assets grew from N$767 000 to N$1.5 million in the same year.

Since 2021, the IPC has qualified for N$2 million in government funding annually for its two National Council seats. By November 2023, the party could earn about N$10 million over five years for its National Council seats, and roughly N$20 million for its 20 National Assembly seats over the same period.

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