Namibia's election revisited

ABSTRACT

The Namibian election of November 1989 was not a reflection of tribal or ethnic processes, as claimed by Potgieter (Politikon 1991), but a rejection of colonialism. The authors of this article argue that Potgieter's primary emphasis on the compartmentalisation of Namibia into distinct tribes is not historically accurate, and that ethnicity cannot be understood as a static phenomenon. Ethnic and national identities are compatible, not necessarily antagonistic. SWAPO was originally organised as an anticolonial national movement. The election showed SWAPO to have stronger support across ethnic groups than Potgieter's article indicated. The relative weakness of SWAPO's support outside Ovambo can be accounted for by the historically uneven access of SWAPO to Namibians in different parts of the country under apartheid structures and by breaches of freeness and fairness in the election process itself. The governing style of SWAPO since the elections supports this explanation, rather than Potgieter's.