Ruling parties romped to victory in five elections held in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) last year, which also ushered in the end of the presidential terms of two liberation stalwarts — Sam Nujoma of Namibia and Joachim Chissano of Mozambique. Their voluntary departure has, however, been overshadowed by challenges to the election results.
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/ 26 November 2004
One of the biggest surprises of the Namibian elections has been that Hifikepunye Pohamba, the South West African People’s Organisation (Swapo) presidential candidate, polled more votes than his party despite persistent references that he is a puppet of the more popular Sam Nujoma. Even during the election campaign Pohamba kept a low profile.
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/ 18 November 2004
Namibia’s South West African People’s Organisation (Swapo) is set for another landslide election victory in what has been a dour election, with low-key campaigning. With only a sprinkling of barely legible posters on lamp posts, election paraphernalia has been in short supply in the sparsely populated country where the ruling party’s liberation credentials still hold sway.
Ironically, the New National Party may have thrown in the towel too soon. Some officials in the African National Congress argue that the NNP should have waited until after next year’s local government elections before joining the ANC, in the hope that they would be able to bring some supporters with them. Operation Nat Attack, it seems, was a long-running plan to weaken and ultimately kill the NNP.
Amnesty International has sounded a warning of a ”profound humanitarian crisis” in Swaziland, a state it slates for its poor human rights record where the king and his royal advisers pay scant regard to courts, the Parliament and international treaties.
South African Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma backed Zimbabwean government moves to stifle an explosive report on human rights abuses in Zimbabwe at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa. At the same time, there is mounting evidence that Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge lied when he claimed his government had not seen or had a chance to respond to the report.