{"id":62785,"date":"2024-02-07T11:43:53","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T11:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest"},"modified":"2024-02-07T11:55:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T11:55:13","slug":"swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest","title":{"rendered":"Swapo faces fresh presidential contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>The death of president Hage Geingob has ignited a fresh leadership race within Swapo, prompting a reconfiguration of key party roles, including those of vice president and president.<\/p>\n

While the party presidency is the primary focus, attention is also directed to the selection of a vice president, seen as a precursor to determining the potential successor of Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is poised to solidify her leadership within the party.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, Swapo\u2019s Soviet style politburo held a meeting to discuss the next steps following Geingob\u2019s death on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The meeting, which was held at Swapo\u2019s headquarters in Windhoek, was aimed at charting a course for the party\u2019s future and to set the stage for the election of a new Swapo president.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe meeting is currently taking place to map the way forward. By the looks of it, the politburo will direct the central committee to call for an extraordinary congress where a new leadership will be elected,\u201d a politburo member said yesterday.<\/p>\n

The meeting was expected to instruct Swapo\u2019s central committee to call for an extraordinary congress, which should happen within three months of the president\u2019s death, according to Swapo\u2019s constitution.<\/p>\n

The congress is Swapo\u2019s highest decision-making body.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the event the president is unable to permanently perform his or her duties or carry out his or her functions for whatever reasons, an extraordinary congress shall be called by the central committee within three months of the vacancy occurring to elect a new president to complete the unexpired term of the former president, unless such vacancy occurs six months prior to the ordinary congress,\u201d Swapo\u2019s constitution reads.<\/p>\n

The delegates to the extraordinary congress would be the same as those who attended the ordinary highly contested elective congress in 2022, where Nandi-Ndaitwah defeated minister of environment, forestry and tourism Pohamba Shifeta and prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila for the Swapo vice president position.<\/p>\n

Minister of defence and veterans affairs Frans Kapofi, who vied for the post, withdrew from the race reportedly on the advice of former president Hifikepunye Pohamba.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether Kapofi will give it another shot to battle for the vice president position, which will be vacated by Nandi-Ndaiwah, who needs to obtain the party presidency to be considered as its candidate for the national presidential polls.<\/p>\n

Former Cabinet minister Helmut Angula yesterday said Swapo has to convene a central committee meeting to call for an extraordinary congress within three months to elect a substantive Swapo president.\u201cIn the meantime, the vice president of the party presides over both politburo and central committee meetings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Former prime minister Nahas Angula also said the central committee should call for an extraordinary congress to elect a new party president.<\/p>\n

Former minister Jerry Ekandjo last year wrote to Geingob, arguing that the 2022 Swapo congress did not elect a presidential candidate for the 2024 national elections, casting doubt on the legitimacy of Nandi-Ndaitwah\u2019s endorsement as the party\u2019s top candidate.<\/p>\n

Ekandjo yesterday did not respond to questions.<\/p>\n

Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah says since Nandi-Ndaitwah is the party vice president, she is likely to be elected as Swapo president to replace Geingob.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what makes it complicated is that there has been voices of discord within the party, so if they have to hold that extraordinary congress to elect the president, I am sure there will be people who are going to throw their hats in that election, and that might complicate issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI foresee a bit of a leadership crisis there if it is not handled carefully,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa did not respond to questions yesterday.<\/p>\n

She paid tribute to Geingob via social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cSwapo mourns the passing of its president Cde, Dr Hage Gott\u00adfried Geingob. Our nation has lost a gallant giant and stalwart of our liberation struggle, an epitome of resilience, justice, peace and hope of millions, here and abroad,\u201d she posted.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cIndeed, a dark cloud has befallen us [sic], our hearts are broken, but we would like to assure you, the Geingob family and the Namibian nation, that we are grieving with you. Your pain is our pain, and your sorrow is our sorrow,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The politburo consists of Swapo vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, and Cabinet ministers Frans Kapofi, Iipumbu Shiimi, John Mutorwa and Anna Nghipondoka, among others.<\/p>\n

Other members are deputy minister of mines and energy Kornelia Shilunga, deputy minister of industrialisation and trade Verna Sinimbo, deputy minister of marginalised people Royal \/Ui\/o\/oo, deputy minister of works and transport Veiko Nekundi and deputy minister of gender equality Bernadette Jagger.<\/p>\n

The list further includes Swapo Party Youth League secretary general Ephraim Nekongo, Hofni Iipinge, parliamentarian Modestus Amutse, legislator Maria Elago, Rehoboth Urban constituency councillor Edward Wambu and lawyer Sisa Namandje.<\/p>\n

Also on the politburo list are former education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, Namibian ambassador to China Elia Kaiyamo, Steve Ovambo and governors Sirkka Ausiku and Laura McLeod-Katjirua.<\/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 death of president Hage Geingob has ignited a fresh leadership race within Swapo, prompting a reconfiguration of key party roles, including those of vice president and president. While the party presidency is the primary focus, attention is also directed to the selection of a vice president, seen as a precursor to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":62783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10,12],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-62785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nSwapo faces fresh presidential contest - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The death of president Hage Geingob has ignited a fresh leadership race within Swapo, prompting a reconfiguration of key ...\" \/>\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\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Swapo faces fresh presidential contest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The death of president Hage Geingob has ignited a fresh leadership race within Swapo, prompting a reconfiguration of key ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest\" \/>\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=\"2024-02-07T11:43:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-07T11:55:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/02\/sm_1707294141.920376.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"751\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"451\" \/>\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=\"4 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\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Swapo faces fresh presidential contest\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-07T11:43:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-07T11:55:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest\"},\"wordCount\":845,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/02\/sm_1707294141.920376.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"parties\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/swapo-faces-fresh-presidential-contest\",\"name\":\"Swapo faces fresh presidential contest - 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