{"id":57903,"date":"2023-11-07T16:23:57","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T16:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near"},"modified":"2023-11-07T16:44:11","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T16:44:11","slug":"udfs-big-moment-draws-near","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near","title":{"rendered":"UDF\u2019s big moment draws near"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>The United Democratic Front (UDF) is at a crossroads, with its 2023 interparty elective congress being the ultimate defining moment ahead of next year\u2019s general polls.<\/p>\n

Later this month, over 500 UDF loyalists will converge at a soon-to-be-announced venue to elect their leaders for the next five years. So far, the towns of Okahandja and Otjiwarongo, both in the Otjozondjupa region, have been touted as potential hosts for what is expected to be a watershed congress.<\/p>\n

Everything is going according to plan to hold a successful election between 24 and 26 November, the party\u2019s deputy leader Dudu Murorua said last week. The congress will see incumbent party leader Apius Auchab defend his turf against Murorua, Kunene Regional Council chairperson and Sesfontein constituency councillor Hendrik Gaobaeb, and deputy Omaruru mayor Christian !Nanuseb.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, !Nanuseb rhetorically said the party was in a \u201cpolitical coma\u201d. \u201cThe reason why I decided to challenge the status quo is because you must have noticed that the UDF is politically in a coma because of the current leadership we have,\u201d he was quoted as saying in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will never be a Parliament without the UDF. That you must be assured of,\u201d Auchab told the naysayers. Third term<\/p>\n

Auchab has led the party for a decade now. If he retains the position, it will technically mean he would have run the party for three terms, or 15 years.<\/p>\n

But there is a catch. The amended UDF constitution only came into force in 2019, meaning Auchab\u2019s first term, which commenced in 2014, predates their current supreme law, and does not count. The first term lapsed in February 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the second congress to us. Anybody who will be elected to office will phase out after the next five years,\u201d said Auchab as he explained the political paradox. \u201cThat\u2019s why legally, I am given a chance by the constitution to compete for a second term. It should not be counted as a third term because there was no constitution when we entered parliament for the first five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contenders Onlookers and party insiders say a tight contest is expected between Auchab and Murorua \u2013 two senior figures who both command respect within the party and the national political landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe party is doing well, but due to a lack of political knowledge, people don\u2019t understand. The political playing field is not level, especially when it comes to party funding. We must compete with giants. Look at what UDF gets vs Swapo, yet we compete against them. We just get over a N$1 million annually,\u201d Auchab said.<\/p>\n

However, he pointed to multiple properties the party has amassed under his watch as evidence of his visionary leadership. \u201cWe have erven in Swakopmund and Omaruru that we are paying off. We have properties in Khorixas, Outjo and Otjiwarongo. We have three vehicles now… when I took over, UDF didn\u2019t even have a spade,\u201d Auchab boasted.<\/p>\n

The politician believes they are a party on an upward trajectory. \u201cSince I took over, we have never fallen back. I found UDF with two seats in the National Assembly, and we still have those seats. In the history of UDF, we only had one seat in the National Council; today, we have two seats. That is history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have taken UDF to another level. My record speaks for itself. Only jealous people will not see. The party is not stagnant. We are growing,\u201d he stressed. Meanwhile, Murorua said he has been around long enough for UDF\u2019s faithful to know what he brings to the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been in this for quite a while. The history speaks for itself. I have been doing what I have always been preaching to the people. I have been treating everyone equally, in such a way that I have assisted in their development,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

The former Kunene governor continued: \u201cWhen it comes to the use of resources for the party itself, I have relied on my own resources to assist the party wherever it needs to be assisted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Damara\u2019 tag<\/p>\n

According to political observers, the UDF can either start commanding national appeal, or continue limping further into obscurity before disappearing into the thin political air.<\/p>\n

Placing UDF under the magnifying lens, commentator Natjirikasorua Tjirera said the organisation is in a \u201csorry state of affairs\u201d. \u201cWith all respect that is due to them,<\/p>\n

they have failed dismally to make inroads in other tribes\u2019 fiefdoms and have, as a result, failed to grow as a party. As a political party, I think they played it safe by ensuring that they keep their support base and not risk losing their support base by going for a national appeal,\u201d he opined.<\/p>\n

For Tjirera, the UDF doesn\u2019t even pretend to be a national party, saying \u201cthey don\u2019t participate in elections beyond their tribal base. That position of theirs means their only form of survival will be holding on to their tribal base for dear life\u201d. It is a view UDF leaders disputed fiercely.<\/p>\n

\u201cUDF is a national party. It is not a tribal party. That is the view we are not bothered about. All political parties in Namibia are labelled. Even Swapo is called an Owambo party. So, we are not bothered,\u201d Murorua stated. Another political commentator, Rui Tyitende, agreed with Tjirera.<\/p>\n

\u201cUDF, like all other small parties with a strong ethnic geographical base, have failed to transcend beyond their traditional<\/p>\n

regions of support. If one were to exclude the Kunene region from the equation, UDF would be condemned to the doldrums of political obscurity. They have no serious support beyond the Kunene region. It remains to a large extent a party of the Damara people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tyitende added: \u201cTheir ability to alter Namibia\u2019s political landscape will be an elusive task, considering the current political climate. Too many players and a fragmented opposition make their case for a national appeal quite bleak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Murorua, Auchab dismissed this analysis. \u201cYou talk about Murorua; is it a Damara surname? Murorua is not a Damara, but how long is Murorua in the UDF? You look at the Sesfontein area; most of the Herero people in that area belong to the UDF.<\/p>\n

We have branches in Rundu and the former Caprivi (Zambezi), so how can the UDF be a Damara party? Have all these people come to be Damaras now that they are associated with us [UDF]? If you look at the national elections, does thevUDF only get votes from the Damara area? No. So, that is telling that the UDF is a national party.\u201d Relevance<\/p>\n

The analysts further presented advice for the UDF in contemporary Namibian politics. \u201cTo be honest, I\u2019ve not heard about any singular UDF position on anything under its current leadership… they need to start being a political movement with a political agenda which includes the interests of all Namibians, and give all Namibians food for thought,\u201d Tjirera asserted.<\/p>\n

Tyitende, a political scientist, also had a lecture for the UDF. \u201cEgos, greed, malfeasance and exercises in self-glorification are straws that will break the camel\u2019s back. Moral leadership should be the first step towards building a strong and capable organisation with ambitions to run the state apparatus. Without that, political death becomes inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. The United Democratic Front (UDF) is at a crossroads, with its 2023 interparty elective congress being the ultimate defining moment ahead of next year\u2019s general polls. Later this month, over 500 UDF loyalists will converge at a soon-to-be-announced venue to elect their leaders for the next five years. So far, the towns […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":57901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-57903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nUDF\u2019s big moment draws near - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The United Democratic Front (UDF) is at a crossroads, with its 2023 interparty elective congress being the ultimate defi ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UDF\u2019s big moment draws near\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The United Democratic Front (UDF) is at a crossroads, with its 2023 interparty elective congress being the ultimate defi ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-07T16:23:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-07T16:44:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/11\/sm_1699362714.978183.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"479\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"UDF\u2019s big moment draws near\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-07T16:23:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-07T16:44:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near\"},\"wordCount\":1223,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/11\/sm_1699362714.978183.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/udfs-big-moment-draws-near\",\"name\":\"UDF\u2019s big moment draws near - 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