Nandi-Ndaitwah blocks constitutional amendment talks

Swapo Party vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, seen by many as a potential heir to Swapo’s political thrown, on Saturday blocked talks related to the amendment of the party constitution at the central committee (CC) meeting that took place over the weekend.Namibian Sun understands Swapo’s top leadership has been asked to consider abolishing the provisions, which stipulate that those who wish to run for the party presidency must have served 10 years “persistently and consistently” in the CC, as well as have been a member of the party for a minimum of 20 years uninterrupted.At the marathon CC meeting, which lasted more than 12 hours, the party’s second in command moved for the agenda item, dealing with the controversial constitutional amendment saga, to be deferred to the next CC meeting. Multiple CC sources confirmed this to Namibian Sun.Top spot raceNandi-Ndaitwah allegedly was not comfortable with the discussion taking place while members of the party’s think tank were present. The amendments, which were proposed by Helmut Angula and adopted by the 2018 extraordinary congress, are seen by many as an artificial barrier to fair contestation.Even some of the party leaders who are in the frame to replace President Hage Geingob as head of state will not be allowed to contest for this position, as they have not been in the CC for 10 years.The think tank attended Saturday’s meeting to present several position papers. Topics covered included housing, health, education, governance, implementation of development programmes and the country’s teetering economy.Party members privy to Nandi-Ndaitwah’s ambitions to lead the party when incumbent president Hage Geingob’s time at the helm expires, said she is not in support of an amendment to lower the requirements which party members must meet to contest for the top positions in the party.“I can confidently say that the VP is not in support of relaxing the rules. She is particularly worried that these efforts to change the constitution are part of a bigger plan to stop her from contesting,” a source claimed.Another source claimed, “Swapo is abandoning its ‘legacy continues’ mantra.”Tough contestThe lingering shadow of the plans to amend the constitution, which could open up the race for more contenders, is seen by many as the scene-setter for the Swapo congress slated for November.Pro-amendment party insiders have warned that the party must make the move in order to remain relevant as well as attract the best candidates.In fact, sources close to Geingob have indicated that he is in support of calls to relax some of the constitutional requirements, which have been labelled by some as “draconian rules”.Nandi-Ndaitwah was not available when contacted for comment yesterday.At Saturday’s meeting, Loide Shaanika and Mandume Pohamba were also sworn in as central committee members.

Nandi-Ndaitwah blocks constitutional amendment talks

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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Nandi-Ndaitwah blocks constitutional amendment talks

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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