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Vinani said lawmakers who were not included in the parliamentary list did not try hard enough to get votes.
People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) president McHenry Winani has denied rumours that the party has excluded Kavango East, Kavango West and Zambezi regional MPs from the parliamentary list.
Earlier, councillors from these areas expressed dissatisfaction with the list, saying they were unhappy with Venani’s parliamentary choice.
“We want Winani to explain why they come here every week, acknowledge the Kavango people as reliable voters, but refuse to give them positions of responsibility. Are the Kavango people insignificant? There are only three representatives in Kavango East, while Katima Mulilo and Kavango West have no representatives. Yet Winani’s team is always here, distributing fish and buying food, but they won’t give us positions of power,” a PDM member who wished to remain anonymous told the Namibian Sun on Wednesday.
“We will not be used anymore. Kavangos will stand united. We knew our people had been working for him for years but he did not even think about them. He must have known we were spying on him,” she added.
Lobbying
Winani refuted the claims, saying: “It is not true that the Kavango people were not selected”.
He stressed that the Party’s Central Committee is an elected body.
“Either you run and get votes or you don’t get votes. If you don’t lobby other regions, you won’t get elected. People should not blame others. It’s not just Kavango, Hardap region is also complaining that they only have one representative. It’s all about how you lobby,” he said.
“It is an election. Unless you suggest it to be done through appointment instead of election, the process is simple. Positions are filled through elections, that is the basic principle. We have contributed to ensure that even if you are not elected, there will be automatic positions to ensure regional representation,” the PDM chief explained.
Vinani added that there will be no lack of regional representation in the central committee as all regional coordinators are directly appointed. “These coordinators are not even elected, so every region is represented. The race is only for 40 posts and 10 alternate seats,” he said.
“We are learning”
The official opposition chairman added that they were “learning from this process”.
“At every congress, we remind the regions that they have to interact with other regions. Don’t assume that people will automatically vote for you just because you’re from a certain region. You have to lobby other regions to get more votes,” he said.
Winani also noted that the Kavango region holds eight or nine seats in the party’s top posts, including treasurer.
“We accommodated Kavango, but this is an election and you have to win it. It is not about excluding people. We have never played such a role,” he said.
According to him, there have been people who say there are too many Hereros on the Central Committee. “Out of 40 people, there are less than 10 Hereros on the Central Committee. So how can one group be said to be above the other? Over the years, I have made sure everyone has a voice.”
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