Live Blog-01-11-2009

The issue of election violence and intimidation is one that has to be tackled unequivocally in the light of the Constitution and the Code of Conduct for political parties. During the last year, there has clearly been violence and intimidation targeted mostly at one party - the RDP. After a lull between March and September, the incidents appear to be picking up again. They clearly have the potential to derail the election in terms of freeness and fairness if the violence and intimidation becomes systematic. I was quoted in the Windhoek Observer on the issue on Saturday. Unfortunately, the way the quotes were used made it look as if I was downplaying the seriousness of the incidents so far. The point I was stressing to the reporter was that if the incidents of recent days escalate they will undermine the credibility of the elections and Namibia's international standing. In addition, no one can declare a 'no-go zone' for political activity in terms of the Constitution. Here is the text of a letter I sent to the Windhoek Observer:

Dear Editor,

I was disappointed to see in this weekend’s Observer (October 31) that my comments were used selectively to underplay the seriousness of election-related violence in the country. In my conversation with the reporter I emphasised that an escalation in the level of violence would certainly undermine the credibility of the elections due on November 27 and 28. In addition, I stressed that any attempt to block a political party from campaigning in any area of Namibia, effectively creating no-go zones, was unconstitutional and as a result totally unacceptable.

I also did not say that no one has been injured so far in election-related violence. There clearly have been some incidents of violence involving physical injury. What I did say is that no one had been seriously injured or killed to my knowledge, but were that to happen it would seriously undermine the freeness and fairness of the election and damage Namibia’s international reputation as a stable democracy.

There is clearly no room for complacency as regards election-related violence. The Constitution sets out that freedom of political activity is a fundamental human right. In addition, the Code of Conduct for Political Parties is clear that “everyone has the right to express his or her political convictions and ideas, without threat or fear of intimidation.”

It is incumbent upon all stakeholders at this election to do everything in their power to ensure violence and intimidation does not take place. Even one incident of violence or intimidation on the campaign trail is one too many. A more pertinent line of inquiry, which I suggested to the reporter, is to consult legal sources about whether the Code of Conduct for Political Parties is legally enforceable and whether those who contravene it should be charged as such. It is my belief that it should be legally enforceable and that this could be an important deterrent to further violence.

Yours sincerely,

Graham Hopwood
IPPR