Explaining the Endurance of Swapo Party’s Dominance

Despite the citizen’s demands for better economic opportunities and better social welfare programs; amidst, high unemployment rate and neo-liberal capitalist economic policies; moreover, despite relentless and legitimate criticism from political scientist and analysts, there are theoretical and practical fundamental typologies that elucidate and justify why the poor, middle class, business sector and pensioners keep voting for the Swapo party.

The Swapo party shares a rich history with the Namibian people, in that it’s acknowledged as the only previous national liberation movement and thus attributed to have engendered the end of colonialism and apartheid by having mobilised citizens to fearlessly, courageously fight with valour and bravery for political independence, the party’s stability depends upon these inheritance from the past. The ability to transcend social cleavages – economic, ethnic, religious and linguistic divisions in society – to be able to attract voters from different social groups in order to win elections and stay in power and establish dominant position, is the long term goal that has been strategically employed by the ruling party.

The institutional arrangement for executive-legislature relations ensures influence and better access to state resources to the ruling party and thus tends to use this advantage to entrench their position. The party also has fruitful relations with the business sector that owes their loyalty to party cadres. We have a culture that consists of widely shared fundamental beliefs; the party is infused with cultural norms that are constantly being redefined, with the culture of personalized politics and patronage networks that manifest themselves in our body politic. 

Finally, the reality is that none of the opposition parties inspire confidence. The oppositions’ failure to be radical and capture the hearts and minds of the young – born frees – and middle class offers no credible electorate alternative, the lack of resources and disappointing grasp of political discourse and orientation is challenging them.

Honestly poor and middle class vote for the Swapo party, despite its embodiment of problematic elements, because of the psychological, historical and sentimental attachment to the party and believe Swapo to be the only organisation that has the ability to liberate them from the clutches of poverty, unemployment and structural inequalities.

Rationalizing this dominant narrative, philosopher Frantz Fanon, recommends that the colonized masses need to undergo a decolonization process that will conscientize them. Hence without labelling the poor (the presently disadvantaged) as incapable of thinking, for lack of better term, we are still capable of being role players of in our own liberation. 

To be our own role players, the late transformational leadership pastor, Dr. Myles Munroe, advocated and challenged us to employ these principles of national transformation, we need to influence; to be active and involved in determining the needs of the community and solutions thereof; to challenge and change the status quo through engaging, interacting, impacting, invading and confronting the powers that be, radically and unapologetically.

Moreover the Swapo party’s neo-liberal policies may be progressive but the poor are not interested in ideology as the middle class might be. They careless about the Harambee Prosperity Plan, the National Development Plan or National Budget. This is because they are preoccupied with their own survival and that of their families, they will vote and defend the ruling party because of the basic services and opportunities they receive which means more than enough to them, as observed by young South African author, Malaika Mahlatsi. A rural family getting clean water, electricity, a clinic and gravel road, pensioners receiving their N$1100 monthly grant and poor students receiving NSFAF study grants, the Swapo party is everything.

Matheus Pendapala Taapopi 

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