WINDHOEK: The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has indicated that it does not interfere with the internal affairs of political parties, amidst continuous leadership infighting within the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) party.

The ECN has been accused by former RDP parliamentarian, Kandy Nehova, of allegedly taking unprecedented steps by intervening in the internal affairs of the RDP, resulting in the installation of an unauthorised representative in parliament, Mike Kavekotora.

Responding to Nampa’s questions regarding the ECN’s position in the matter, its spokesperson, De Wet Siluka, said on Tuesday that, in their view, Mike Kavekotora was duly nominated as the presidential candidate of the RDP in 2019 by the authorised representative of the party in conformity with the provisions of the amended Electoral Act 05 of 2014.

‘ECN does not deal with factions within a political party. There exists no relationship between the ECN and Mr. Mike Kavekotora other than the fact that, according to our reco
rds, he is the president of the RDP, a political party duly registered in terms of Section 137 of the Electoral Act, 05 of 2014, as amended,’ he explained.

According to Nehova, Kavekotora, who resigned as a Member of Parliament in March 2024 and was presided over by Kennedy Shekupakela, is illegitimately representing the party as they have not received the required 51 per cent of votes as per the party constitution in June 2019 elections.

‘Mike Kavekotora and Kennedy Shekupakela never got 51 per cent of votes cast, and a rerun was never ordered by the chairperson of the elections committee. The ECN was well informed about this from the beginning,’ he noted.

Nehova indicated that the legitimate leadership with the central committee was elected in October 2019, noting that a petition of 200 signatures objecting to Kavekotora’s presidential candidacy in 2019 was submitted to the ECN.

Meanwhile, Siluka indicated that should factions arise within a party, the best course of action would be for the contesting f
action to seek redress from the Electoral Court.

However, RDP legal secretary and constitutional affairs representative, Amanda Titus said they took the issue to the Electoral Court in 2019, but the court indicated that it does not have jurisdiction to hear the merit of the case and referred them to the tribunal court or the ECN.

‘They said we must approach the tribunal court because it is an issue that arose before polling day… but the Electoral Act that outlines the powers of the Electoral court shows that the Electoral court does have jurisdiction. It is our interpretation that the Electoral Court saw the merit because it took them approximately almost four years just to constitute the court,’ she said.

She further indicated that a case of fraud against Kavekotora and Shekupakela was opened. The case also involves alleged false representation with intent to commit fraud.

Source: The Namibia News Agency