{"id":75389,"date":"2024-08-22T16:18:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T16:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/venaani-tears-into-pdm-slates"},"modified":"2024-08-22T16:18:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T16:18:00","slug":"venaani-tears-into-pdm-slates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/venaani-tears-into-pdm-slates","title":{"rendered":"Venaani tears\u00a0into PDM slates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani has taken a swipe at internal political slates ahead of their elective congress.<\/p>\n

The PDM congress kicks off tomorrow in Zambezi regional capital Katima Mulilo.<\/p>\n

They are also expected to launch their election manifesto this weekend.<\/p>\n

As of yesterday, delegates from different parts of the country had already descended on the town to partake in the crescendo, as a decisive moment beckoned. On Tuesday, posters of the party\u2019s top five leaders below Venaani were spreading like wildfire on different social media platforms, as the push for PDM\u2019s top six leaders to retain their positions unopposed climaxed.<\/p>\n

Venaani did not take this lightly, if internal communications are anything to go by. \u201c[This] is not slate politics that senior leaders are campaigning with the same mantra. Let\u2019s avoid that. Any leader must campaign in his own right,\u201d he fumed on PDM\u2019s central committee members\u2019 WhatsApp group.<\/p>\n

While PDM leaders have denied pushing for the status quo to be retained as reported by this publication, lawmaker Hidipo Hamata became the first senior<\/p>\n

figure to make this position known publicly. The top six leaders are party leader Venaani, his deputy Jennifer van den Heever, secretary general Manuel Ngaringombe, his deputy Linus Thobias, national chairperson Diederick Vries and party treasurer Nico Smit.<\/p>\n

So far, all other top six leaders except for Smit and Venaani have known opponents who have shown interest in toppling them.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Tuesday, Hamata<\/p>\n

said: \u201cI strongly urge all delegates to endorse the current top six leaders for another<\/p>\n

term.\u201d When contacted yesterday, Venaani was firm in his resolve that every position will be contested.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is just a fallacy. There is nobody who has endorsed anybody. Those who are writing that narrative are people who want to probably protect themselves in the jobs they have, or something. There is nothing like endorsement.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t endorse people; we vote for people. It\u2019s a democracy. So, those who are saying no, the top leadership should not be touched, they could air it. They could be airing an opinion, but they must know that it\u2019s a democratic order,\u201d he said, seemingly hitting back at Hamata.<\/p>\n

Reaction<\/p>\n

Approached for comment on the build-up to the PDM congress, which has been postponed several times, political commentator Ndumba Kamwanyah said the plan by some within the movement to push the top six leaders down the delegates\u2019 throats can be viewed from different perspectives. \u201cIt might reflect a sense of unity and consensus within the party, where the leadership believes that these individuals are best-suited for their roles, and no viable opposition exists within the ranks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Kamwanyah reasoned that this approach might bring into question the party\u2019s democratic processes. \u201cDemocracy ideally involves a contest of ideas and leadership, where party members can choose between different candidates. By endorsing candidates without a competitive process, the PDM risks appearing undemocratic, as it potentially stifles debate and limits the participation of the broader membership. Doing so also might create a dangerous precedent that could come back to haunt the party in its future leadership elections,\u201d he noted. He added: \u201cIf the endorsement of the top six is perceived as undemocratic, there could be dissatisfaction among the party\u2019s rank-and-file members, leading to potential divisions or internal conflict. It will be important to see how the party leadership manages any dissent, and whether they can maintain party unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the congress is a platform for the PDM to outline its policy priorities, observers should expect clear messages on how the PDM plans to differentiate itself from other political parties, he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe congress will likely be a crucial moment for the PDM to set its electoral strategy. This includes how they plan to attract voters, especially in a political landscape where opposition parties need to demonstrate strong alternatives to the ruling party,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Crunch talks<\/p>\n

Yesterday evening, PDM\u2019s top brass \u2013 the central committee and national executive committee (NEC) \u2013 were scheduled to convene. \u201cThe meeting is to prepare the final reports which need to be put to congress. So, it\u2019s a procedural matter. It has nothing to do with being urgent or non-urgent. It\u2019s just the business of congress. Before every congress meets, the last NEC, the last CC, meets to adopt the agenda of the congress, to adopt the reports, and all those things. It\u2019s done like that,\u201d Venaani stated.<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Namibia. Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani has taken a swipe at internal political slates ahead of their elective congress. The PDM congress kicks off tomorrow in Zambezi regional capital Katima Mulilo. They are also expected to launch their election manifesto this weekend. As of yesterday, delegates from different parts of the country […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":75388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-75389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nVenaani tears\u00a0into PDM slates - Namibia<\/title>\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\/venaani-tears-into-pdm-slates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Venaani tears\u00a0into PDM slates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Namibia. Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani has taken a swipe at internal political slates ahead of their elective congress. The PDM congress kicks off tomorrow in Zambezi regional capital Katima Mulilo. They are also expected to launch their election manifesto this weekend. 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