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]
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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
The National Assembly consisted of 72 members elected by proportional representation and six members appointed by the President.[4]
Conductedit
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]
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]
^Namibia: Presidential and National Assembly Elections 1999 EISA
^ abcdefgT. Lodge (2001) "The Namibian Elections of 1999", Democratization, 8:2, 191-230, DOI: 10.1080/714000205
^"Electoral Act, 1992: Notification of Result of General Election for Members of the National Assembly" (pdf). Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia. No. 2261. Government of Namibia. 20 January 2000. pp. 3, 4.
^ abKemi Ogunsanya (2003) Namibia Elections and Conflict Management Accord
^"Your Guide to the Results. Facts and Figures". Election supplement to The Namibian, 25 November 2014, p2
January 01, 1970
1999, namibian, general, election, general, elections, were, held, namibia, november, december, 1999, elect, president, national, assembly, voting, took, place, over, days, after, commission, persuaded, protests, from, political, parties, that, single, polling. 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 1994 30 November 1 December 1999 2004 Presidential electionTurnout62 06 COD DTA Nominee Sam Nujoma Ben Ulenga Katuutire Kaura Party SWAPO COD DTA Popular vote 414 096 56 541 50 824 Percentage 76 85 10 49 9 64 Results by regionPresident 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 3 Contents 1 Electoral system 2 Conduct 2 1 Violence 3 Results 3 1 President 3 2 National Assembly 3 2 1 By region 4 ReferencesElectoral system editThe 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 4 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 5 The National Assembly consisted of 72 members elected by proportional representation and six members appointed by the President 4 Conduct editFollowing 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 edit 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 editPresident edit CandidatePartyVotes Sam NujomaSWAPO414 09676 85Ben UlengaCongress of Democrats56 54110 49Katuutire KauraDemocratic Turnhalle Alliance51 9399 64Justus ǁGaroebUnited Democratic Front16 2723 02Total538 848100 00Valid votes538 84898 79Invalid blank votes6 6171 21Total votes545 465100 00Registered voters turnout878 86962 06Source Government of Namibia National Assembly edit PartyVotes Seats SWAPO408 17476 1555 2Congress of Democrats53 2899 947NewDemocratic Turnhalle Alliance50 8249 487 8United Democratic Front15 6852 9320Monitor Action Group3 6180 6710SWANU WRP1 8850 3500Democratic Coalition of Namibia1 7970 340 1Federal Convention of Namibia7640 1400Appointed members60Total536 036100 00780Valid votes536 03699 06Invalid blank votes5 0780 94Total votes541 114100 00Registered voters turnout861 84862 79Source African Elections Database By region edit 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 6 References edit Namibia Presidential and National Assembly Elections 1999 EISA a b c d e f g T Lodge 2001 The Namibian Elections of 1999 Democratization 8 2 191 230 DOI 10 1080 714000205 Electoral Act 1992 Notification of Result of General Election for Members of the National Assembly pdf Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia No 2261 Government of Namibia 20 January 2000 pp 3 4 a b Kemi Ogunsanya 2003 Namibia Elections and Conflict Management Accord Elections held in 1999 IPU Your Guide to the Results Facts and Figures Election supplement to The Namibian 25 November 2014 p2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1999 Namibian general election amp oldid 1196234740, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
