Niël Terblanché
After a tumultuous elective congress that ended in the early hours of Monday morning, the United Democratic Front (UDF) eventually elected a new Central Committee which includes a new president and a secretary general.
Hendrick Gaobaeb managed to focus the majority of the elective congress’s votes on him and will serve as the new president of the UDF. Nico Somaeb was elected as the party’s new vice president while Daniel Tsaneb and Davey van Wyk will respectively serve as the party’s new secretary general and vice secretary general.
Seriane Mukuta, who will serve as the party’s national treasurer is the only woman voted into the UDF’s top structure.
The elective congress kicked off in Swakopmund on Saturday but soon after descended in turmoil as party members were left without crucial financial reports and the opportunity to question outgoing leaders.
The event marked the UDF’s first congress in a decade, following its last elective congress more than a decade ago in 2013.
The primary agenda item on the congress’s docket was the election of a new leadership, but the proceedings quickly took an unexpected turn after all party structures were dissolved by the Congress before any reports were presented, causing consternation among the party faithful.
When the congress resumed on Sunday, 392 members registered to vote for the new leadership of the UDF.
In the past accusations have surfaced against the previous president Apius !Auxab and his leadership of depleting party funds on personal loans.
Up until the past weekend’s elective congress, !Auxab and his executive occupied leadership positions which expired in December 2023.
The Party has failed to host its elective congress due to allegations of what insiders have described as a lack of funds.
It was rumoured last year that the UDF leadership applied for an overdraft when party funds were depleted. The leadership was forced to postpone the elective congress until the first quarter of 2024 because financial allocations by the government only became available at the start of this year.
The UDF currently occupies two seats in the Namibian Parliament and has various other seats in various local authorities and the National Council.
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