PDM seeks withdrawal of UPM-parliamentarians

Staff Reporter

NAMIBIA’S official opposition party, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Peter Katjavivi, requesting the withdrawal of two of its parliamentarians, Jan Van Wyk and Frans Josseph Bertolini.

The two parliamentarians are members of the United People’s Movement (UPM) which formed an alliance with the PDM during the 2019 general elections, which alliance is currently on the rocks.

The PDM request follows verbatim:

1. This correspondence is issued by the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) to formally request the withdrawal of two Members of the National Assembly, sworn in under the PDM ticket but affiliated with the United People’s Movement (UPM). This action is precipitated by a categorically egregious violation of the established Memorandum of Understanding between PDM and UPM called the PDM-UPM Alliance Agreement which came into effect on the 28th of August 2019, specifically instigated by UPM’s new alliance with the National Empowerment Fighting Corruption (NEFC) publicly announced on the 27’· of February 2024. Through the UPM and NEFC Alliance, the parties agreed not to field a candidate for the upcoming Presidential Elections concluding that the Alliance would support Madam Ally Angula for the 2024 Presidential Elections.
2. The gravamen of this issue lies in the UPM and NEFC Alliance uniting votes under one umbrella for Madam Ally Angula for the 2024 elections. UPM explicitly contravened the PDM-UPM Alliance Agreement which mandates UPM to support the PDM Presidential candidate as the President of UPM or any chosen member of UPM is to serve as the second Vice President of PDM for a period of five years from the date the PDM-UPM Agreement came to force on the 28th of August 2019 as per Section 1.3.1.5 of the PDM-UPM Alliance Agreement. The duration of the PDM-UPM Agreement only expires in March 2025. Thus, the deliberate and public support by the UPM through the UPM and NEFC Alliance for Madam Ally Angula as their Alliance’s Presidential Candidate while still currently benefiting from the PDM-UPM Alliance not only disrupts the collaborative political strategy and objectives of the PDM-UPM Alliance but also erodes the integrity of our alliance, constituting a material breach of the terms PDM.UPM Alliance Agreement.
3. Section 1.3 of the PDM-UPM Alliance Agreement stipulates that, “The United People’s Movement will not nominate a candidate for the Presidential Elections and agreed to mobilize its members and supporters to vote for the PDM Presidential Candidate.” This section, and by extension, the Alliance Agreement, remains binding until March 2025. The decision by UPM through its agreement with NEFC to publicly support a candidate outside the binding PDM-UPM Alliance Agreement, as per the parameters of Section 1.3, constitutes a direct breach of the duty owed to the PDM by UPM, as per the terms of the PDM-UPM Alliance Agreement. UPM has undermined the foundational trust and cooperative intent established by the PDM-UPM Alliance Agreement, compelling us to conclude that the representation of these individuals in the National Assembly under the auspices of the PDM is no longer tenable.
4. In light of these circumstances and the termination of the PDM-UPM Alliance Agreement, we are compelled to hereby trigger Article 48(l)(a) of the Namibian Constitution which provides that a Member of the National Assembly shall vacate his/her seat if they cease to have the qualifications which rendered them eligible to be members of the National Assembly. Honourable Speaker, as per the powers provided to the PDM by virtue of Article 48(l)(a) we hereby notify you that Honourable Jan Van Wyk and Honourable Frans Josseph Bertolini are no longer affiliated to the PDM. We thus request the Speaker to withdraw these members as Members of the National Assembly with immediate effect.
5. We kindly request the Speaker to expedite the formalization of this withdrawal, ensuring compliance with all requisite parliamentary procedures to effectuate the retraction of these seats in a timely and orderly fashion.
6. Your immediate and diligent attention to this matter is imperative for maintaining the integrity of parliamentary representation and adherence to the rule of law within our democratic institution.

Yours sincerely, Manuel Ngaringombe, Secretary General Popular Democratic Movement

CC: Ms Lydia Tjihimise Kandetu, Secretary to the National Assembly

Hon. Jan Van Wyk, Member of Parliament
Hon. Frans Josseph Bertolini, Member of Parliament