The allocation of broadcast time to political parties contesting an election is a sensitive one, which needs to be carefully considered and implemented.
Because the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), as the national broadcaster, is the largest broadcaster with the greatest reach, all political parties want to have their campaign messages aired by it in free-to-air party political broadcasts.

The media has long been held to play a key role in the fostering of democracy, forming a bridge between the governed and governing. So it goes without saying that during elections the role of the news media becomes especially important.

Media coverage of elections has over the years been severely criticised for being event and personality driven and for not focussing on the issues affecting the electorate.
Too often journalists opt for easy coverage – campaign events and which politicians says what where and when – instead of holding politicians accountable for their service delivery records on the issues that affect ordinary citizens.

The Swapo Party manifesto was unveiled on September 6 and adopts the theme: “Striving for Economic Independence and Prosperity for All”.
In the 42-page document, Swapo opens with a statement of intent – that Swapo remains the only driving force for change in Namibia. “The party has delivered on its promises to the Namibian nation over the past 19 years and remains a tried and tested political party with the credibility and capacity to yet again deliver on its promises,” President Hifikepunye Pohamba states in the foreword.

In the absence of regular opinion polling about party support in Namibia, the IPPR recently canvassed its research associates for their predictions of the number of seats each party will obtain in the National Assembly after the November 27 and 28 elections.
The overall result was as follows:

Swapo 54 seats(75%)
RDP 6 seats(8%)
DTA 4 seats(6%)
Nudo 3 seats (4%)
CoD 2 seats(3%)
UDF 2 seats (3%)
APP 1 seat(1%)

According to a report in The Namibian on Monday September 21, the founding President Sam Nujoma made comments that were a violation of the Code of Conduct for political parties in the run up to the 2009 national elections. Nujoma reportedly called on Swapo supporters at party rally at Ongwediva on Saturday September 19 to attack British citizens. Nujoma claimed that British and American “imperialists” were imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe because its President Robert Mugabe was fighting to provide land for his people.

17 – 30 September 2009: Supplementary registration of voters
01 October 2009: Commencement period of nomination of candidates
19 October 2008: Nomination day and submission of candidates of political parties
13 November 2009: Voting abroad & Voting of Sea personnel
27 – 28 November 2009: Election day, counting day and announcement of results
04 December 2009: Publication: Election results

There is little doubt that possession of a presidential office gives the ruling party certain advantages that its challengers are unable to match. When an incumbent president seeks re-election, he or she often has many special advantages and privileges by virtue of being Head of State.

Several opposition parties have now issued their manifestos including the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo), which recently issued a 40-page booklet.

In the past, some MPs have been accused of doing little more than ‘warming seats’ in the National Assembly because of their perceived low contribution to parliamentary debates. However, there has been no attempt by researchers to assess just how much MPs do contribute to debate and which, if any, MPs say very little at all. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) recently reviewed 19 volumes of Hansard (the official record of the National Assembly) dating from September 2005 to early October 2007.