Steve Nashama
Okaku constituency by-election concluded with the Swapo party retaining its position as the constituency’s leading party. Swapo candidate, David Fillipus won the elections with 3 195 votes.
A former Councillor of the Okaku constituency, Kapya Endjala, who served from 2010 to 2015 said in an interview with the Windhoek Observer that the constituency by-election held last Friday last was fair.
Endjala said he visited all the polling stations in the constituency and there were no political fights between the contenders.
“There were no political fights as it used to be in the past, the elections went smooth with political maturity,” the Former councillor said.
During the campaigns, Swapo candidate Fillipus and Independent Patriots for Change candidate Sakaria Jakop were seen shaking hands in good spirits.
The Okaku Councillor position became vacant after the passing of the previous Councillor Gerson Hannu Kapenda, in December last year. In terms of the Regional Council Act, if a vacancy occurs in a particular constituency office, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) is obligated in terms of the law to conduct a by-election in that particular constituency within 90 days from the date the vacancy has occurred.
Four candidates contested the by-election with SWAPO retaining the Okaku constituency office. Sakaria Jakop of the Independent Patriots for Change garnered 852 votes, Jason Haufiku of the Popular Democratic Movement got 122 votes while Tomas Nambambi of the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters received 294 votes.
The ECN announced that 4 463 votes were cast in the by-election, of which 22 were rejected. ECN subsequently declared Fillipus as the winner of the Okaku constituency.
Swapo Party Youth League Secretary, Ephraim Nekongo expressed his happiness about the choice of the Okaku residents, saying Swapo is the party that liberated Namibia from colonialism. He expressed gratitude to Okaku residents for “making the right choice”.
“We were there during the campaign, we will implement what we promised them. We urged comrade Fillipus to go to the people of Okaku, listen to their problems and address to their needs,”said Nekongo.
He added that the new Councillor ought to extend his efforts in building clinics, schools, roads, and giving water and electricity to the constituency residents.
“It is the people’s office, the Okaku residents should go to the office, express their concerns, and give their input about the constituency development,” Nekongo said.
Nekongo pointed out that if inhabitants feel Fillipus is not doing what they expect from him, they should approach the Swapo party offices.
“As the Swapo party youth league, we salute the Okaku constituency residents for making the right decision,” he said.
Nekongo said the Swapo party has done a lot in the constituency, and it will continue to do more on the development within the constituency and the country at large.
Werner Iita, the Swapo party regional Coordinator in the Oshana region said that they are happy with the results, adding that they always expected the Swapo party to win the Okaku by-election.
“I would like to thank the Okaku residents for voting for the party that brought independence. My humble request is for those who believe other parties will bring change to come back and vote for Swapo,” Iita said.
He urged the nation to continue voting Swapo party forever, adding that those who do not vote for the party are wasting their time.
Efforts to get comment from Fillipus were not successful.
