1999 Namibian general election

General elections were held in Namibia on 30 November and 1 December 1999 to elect a president and the National Assembly.[1] Voting took place over two days, after the Commission was persuaded by protests from political parties that a single polling day would be insufficient to accommodate travel to polling stations by voters in remote areas.[2]

1999 Namibian general election

30 November–1 December 1999

Nominee Sam Nujoma Ben Ulenga Party SWAPO COD Popular vote 414,096 56,541 Percentage 76.82% 10.49%

President before election Sam Nujoma SWAPO Elected President Sam Nujoma SWAPO

Incumbent President Sam Nujoma of SWAPO was re-elected with over 76% of the vote, whilst SWAPO won 55 of the 72 elected seats in the National Assembly.

Electoral system

The President was elected using a modified two-round system, with a candidate required to receive at least 50% of the vote in the first round to be elected; if no candidate had crossed the 50% threshold, subsequent rounds would be held until a candidate achieved a majority.[3] The Namibian constitution was amended to allow the first president to hold office for three terms, as Nujoma had started his first term after being nominated by members of the Constituent Assembly rather than being directly elected.[4]

The National Assembly consisted of 72 members elected by proportional representation and six members appointed by the President.[3]

Conduct

Following supplementary voter registration between August and September 1999,  the electorate rose from 738,000 to 878,000 due to names being entered improperly, incorrect addresses, names entered multiple times, and officials registering people beyond the 8 October deadline.[2] The former Director of Elections maintained that the actual number of legitimate voters was approximately 790,000. To combat voter fraud, voters would sign or mark their cards to prevent them from voting twice, they would also have thumb marking with indelible ink.[2]

The Congress of Democrats (COD) felt that distribution of public funds to political parties were unfair as, the money was only available for political parties represented in parliament. Based on representation SWAPO received N$5.8 million, the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) N$1.8 million, the United Democratic Front N$225,000, the Monitor Action Group N$75,316 and the Democratic Coalition of Namibia N$69,355.

Violence

Despite all parties signing and agreeing to an electoral code of conduct at the beginning of the campaign, there was violence between SWAPO and COD supporters. It began when a SWAPO supporter assaulted a young woman who was working in a pub in Ondangwa. Another COD supporter was beaten up after a classroom debate. The DTA claimed that police were harassing their followers with detention orders and house searches. The Home Affairs minister said DTA politicians should be "locked up" if they tried to obtain police assistance in organising their meetings.[2] On 4 November a COD regional manager was travelling and was surrounded by schoolchildren and SWAPO co-ordinator Mandate Pohamba. The children were chanting "down with the mercenaries and spies", and attempted to remove party logo from the vehicle.[2] This activity escalated to a COD organiser being assaulted with a brick by schoolchildren and later receiving death threats.

Ignatius Shixwameni, then a SWAPO politician, claimed he heard SWAPO supporters in the Kavango Region singing songs about how he and Ben Ulenga (the COD presidential candidate) would be arrested and have their heads chopped off. He also said he had been told by trainee teachers in the area that they were told not to join the COD if they wanted jobs. Schoolchildren had been threatened they would lose scholarships if they or their parents joined the COD.[2] Many more incidents similar to those mentioned were reported. The National Society for Human Rights released a report detailing the events. The Electoral Commission conducted a Liaison Committee on 9 November, in which it was agreed upon by the parties that whenever possible they would hold their rallies at the same times and at least 500 meters apart.[2]

Results

President

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Sam Nujoma	SWAPO	414,096	76.82
Ben Ulenga	Congress of Democrats	56,541	10.49
Katuutire Kaura	Democratic Turnhalle Alliance	51,939	9.64
Justus ǁGaroëb	United Democratic Front	16,272	3.02
Invalid/blank votes		6,617	–
Total		545,465	100
Registered voters/turnout		878,869	62.06
Source: Government of Namibia

National Assembly

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
SWAPO	408,174	76.15	55	+2
Congress of Democrats	53,289	9.94	7	New
Democratic Turnhalle Alliance	50,824	9.48	7	–8
United Democratic Front	15,685	2.93	2	0
Monitor Action Group	3,618	0.67	1	0
SWANU-WRP	1,885	0.35	0	0
Democratic Coalition of Namibia	1,797	0.34	0	–1
Federal Convention of Namibia	764	0.14	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	5,078	–	–	–
Appointed members	–	–	6	0
Total	536,036	100	78	0
Registered voters/turnout	861,848	62.20	–	–
Source: African Elections Database

By region

Region	COD	DCN	DTA	FCN	MAG	SWANU-WRP	SWAPO	UDF
Caprivi	6,368	71	943	18	17	28	9,754	174
Erongo	5,590	130	3,372	27	465	101	24,065	4,097
Hardap	4,854	111	3,943	78	453	72	6,318	353
ǁKaras	4,866	94	2,939	106	405	29	13,124	299
Kavango	4,838	135	7,179	100	83	221	33,970	679
Khomas	14,530	339	5,657	162	846	302	44,925	2,288
Kunene	1,528	113	6,911	38	192	44	4,368	3,435
Ohangwena	308	27	152	9	18	181	68,593	243
Omaheke	1,967	197	7,619	81	399	254	6,402	300
Omusati	374	42	611	25	35	210	80,601	277
Oshana	1,313	20	727	16	17	128	52,246	234
Oshikoto	2,161	47	921	18	79	154	47,584	698
Otjozondjupa	4,455	467	9,843	86	606	159	15,988	2,605
Source: The Namibian[5]

References

1. Namibia: Presidential and National Assembly Elections 1999 EISA
2. T. Lodge (2001) "The Namibian Elections of 1999", Democratization, 8:2, 191-230, DOI: 10.1080/714000205
3. Kemi Ogunsanya (2003) Namibia Elections and Conflict Management Accord
4. Elections held in 1999 IPU
5. "Your Guide to the Results. Facts and Figures". Election supplement to The Namibian, 25 November 2014, p2