2. The Extra Ordinary Summit was chaired by H.E. Kgalema Motlanthe, President of the Republic of South Africa and the Chairperson of SADC.

3. The Extra-Ordinary Summit was attended by the following Heads of State and Government or their representatives:

DRC H.E. President Joseph Kabila Deputy Chairperson of SADC

Lesotho Right Honourable Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili

Mozambique H.E. President Armando Emilio Guebuza, Deputy Chairperson of the Organ and Acting Chairperson of the Organ

Namibia H.E. President Hifikepunye Pohamba

South Africa H.E. President Kgalema Motlanthe
Chairperson of SADC

Zimbabwe H.E. President Robert Gabriel Mugabe

Botswana His Honour Vice President Lieutenant General Mompati S. Merafhe

Swaziland Right Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini

Angola Honourable Assuncao A. De Sousa dos Anjos, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

United Republic of Tanzania Honourable Bernard K. Membe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Seychelles Honourable Patrick Pillay, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Zambia Honourable Kabinga J. Pande, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Malawi H.E Agrina Mussa, High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa

Mauritius H.E. Mahomed Ismael Dossa, High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa

Madagascar H.E. Bary Rafatrolaza, Consul General of Madagascar in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa

4. The meeting was also attended by His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, Former President of the Republic of South Africa and Facilitator on the Zimbabwe Political Dialogue, Leaders of MDC Formations, Right Honourable Morgan Tsvangirai, Prime Minister Designate and Honourable Professor Arthur Mutambara, Deputy Prime Minister Designate of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and the Executive Secretary of SADC, Dr. Tomaz Augusto Salomão.

5. In his opening remarks, His Excellency President Kgalema Motlanthe of the Republic of South Africa and the Chairperson of SADC welcomed all delegates to the meeting and re-affirmed SADC’s commitment in supporting peace and stability in the Region, in particular, DRC and Zimbabwe.

6. The Extra Ordinary Summit considered and endorsed the Joint Statement of Heads of State of the Great Lakes Region Summit of 7 November 2008 on the situation in DRC, in particular the following:

(i) immediate ceasefire by all the armed men and militia in North Kivu;

(ii) establishment of humanitarian corridors throughout the area to ensure immediate address of the humanitarian crisis and tragedy;

(iii) immediate implementation of Nairobi Communiqué, Goma Agreement and all the relevant agreements and protocols to ensure sustainable peace and durable political stability;

(iv) the Summit of the Great Lakes Region called on the UN Secretary General to strengthen the mandate of the peacekeeping forces in DRC and provide adequate resources and be able to address the volatile situation;
(v) the Great Lakes Region would not stand by and witness incessant and destructive acts of violence by any armed groups against innocent people of DRC; if and when necessary the Great Lakes Region will send peacemaking forces into the Kivu Province of the DRC;

(vi) the Summit of the Great Lakes Region called on the UN and all humanitarian agencies that have shown great support for the victims of military violence to continue to sustain and increase their support until human tragedy is stopped.

7. The Extra Ordinary Summit noted that:

(i) the security situation in the DRC is affecting peace and stability in the SADC and the Great Lakes Regions;

(ii) the security and humanitarian situation is deteriorating in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo;

(iii) many agreements entered into regarding peace and security in the Great Lakes Region were not implemented because of the intransigence of Laurent Nkunda;

(iv) DRC Armed Forces need to be assisted in order to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country;

8. In view of the above issues, the Extra Ordinary Summit resolved that:

(i) the SADC Team of Military Experts be deployed immediately to assess the situation in the Eastern DRC;

(ii) SADC should immediately provide assistance to the Armed Forces of the DRC;

(iii) the SADC Military Advisory Team be deployed immediately to advise the Command of FARDC on matters which will be agreed by the Government of the DRC;

(iv) the SADC would not standby and witness incessant and destructive acts of violence by any armed groups against innocent people of DRC, if and when necessary SADC will, within the Nairobi framework, send peace peacekeeping force into Kivu Province of the DRC;

(v) the SADC Military Monitoring Commission be dispatched to the DRC immediately to monitor the border between DRC, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda;

(vi) the SADC Troika of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation meet with the Troika of the Great Lakes Region expeditiously to avoid overlaps and map a joint way forward;

(vii) the Teams established by the Double Troika of Defence Sub Committee should implement their mandate of providing technical assistance in the DRC as a matter of urgency; and

(viii) the deployed Teams should report to SADC via the Organ Troika.

9. The Extra Ordinary Summit decided to have a SADC representative in the mediation mechanism established by the Great Lakes Region for the DRC to be based in Nairobi, Kenya, with immediate effect.

10. The Extra Ordinary Summit considered the political and security situation in Zimbabwe and observed that no government has been formed subsequent to the holding of the elections and the signing of the Global Political Agreement. As a result, the country is unable to effectively address the challenges facing the people of Zimbabwe.

11. In view of the above, Summit decided that:

(i) the Inclusive Government be formed forthwith in Zimbabwe;

(ii) the Ministry of Home Affairs be co-managed between the ZANU-PF and MDC-T;

(iii) the efficacy of the arrangement referred to in paragraph 2 above, be reviewed after six (6) months by the Parties with the assistance of the guarantors, SADC, AU and the Facilitator.

(iv) to give effect to these decisions and the provisions of the Global Political Agreement, the Parties must, without any further delay, introduce the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 19.

12. The Extra-Ordinary Summit appreciated the efforts of His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, Former President of the Republic of South Africa and the Facilitator of the Political Dialogue on Zimbabwe in finding an amicable solution to challenges facing the Republic of Zimbabwe and encouraged him to continue with his mediation efforts.

13. The Extra-Ordinary Summit will continuously remain seized with the ongoing political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Zimbabwe.

14. The Extra-Ordinary Summit congratulated the Republic of Zambia for the professionally managed credible presidential by-elections held on 30 October 2008 and wished H.E. Rupiah Banda, President of the Republic of Zambia well in his new role as Head of State.

15. His Excellency President Kgalema Motlanthe officially closed the Extra-Ordinary Summit.



Sandton, Republic of South Africa
09 November 2008

GWEN LISTER

And it is hard for me to resist saying that 'thinking' is something we don't do enough of in this country, and so it must be welcomed when and where it happens!

In an announcement last Friday, Swapo Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana said that the 'think tank' would constitute several subcommittees, to work on, among others, economic, political, diplomatic, social and governance issues.

But I also feel Swapo needs to re-assess its position in Africa and the rest of the world.
Our international world view is both lacking and outdated.

Nearly two decades after the struggle has ended, there are still those who cling to the past, and they must be brought into a democratic and enlightened future.
It is obviously early days.

But then again, it is not my choice.
But it must be remembered this is not a Government-appointed body.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

ALL Namibians are well aware that Swapo is the ruling party in Government. They are equally appraised of the fact that President Hifikepunye Pohamba leads the same party and is also, more importantly, our Head of State.

NSHR is not surprised by the remarkable disapproval of the ruling Swapo Party implicit in the massive voter stay away last Friday October 31 2008 in the Tobias Hainyeko Constituency by-election. Figures attributed to the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) show that a total of 24 825 residents have registered to vote in the said by-election. Statistics reportedly released by Swapo Party Secretary General Mme Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana also indicate that 24 855 residents had voter cards out of a total of 34 000 residents in the Tobias Hainyeko Constituency.

However, only a total of 5 764 residents have actually voted for the two competing parties---i.e. the ruling Swapo Party and the opposition All People's Party (APP) last Friday. Of all those who have voted, 5 529 residents voted for the candidate of the ruling Swapo Party, while 164 voters cast their ballots for the APP candidate. Seventy-one (71) ballots were invalidated.

On October 28 2008, three other opposition parties, viz. National Union Democratic Organization (NUDO), Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) and Republican Party (RP), withdrew from the by-election in protest. Citing inter alia lack of integrity in the electoral process as well as presence of number of serious shortcomings in the organization and administration of process, NUDO, RDP and RP also accused ECN of conflict of interest and lack of transparency and equity.

As an expression of their disapproval of ECN conduct, NUDO, RDP and RP on October 30 2008 urged their followers to abstain from taking part in the controversial Tobias Hainyeko poll.

"Assuming that both ECN and Mme Iivula-Ithana's statistics on the number of registered voters are accurate, this considerable voter stay away might be the loudest and clearest yet signal of massive public disapproval for the division-stricken ruling Swapo Party. Whether this stay away resulted from general voter apathy or it was because of the boycott call from the Opposition parties, the only logical conclusion a sensible analyst could make is that the stay away was a resounding negative vote for the Swapo Party", said NSHR executive director Phil ya Nangoloh.
Several historical, socio-economic and socio-political factors might have combined to result in such a virtual election boycott by at least 19 060 voters or some 77 percent of the 24 825 registered voters in the said Constituency.

"Among the historical factors are the deep-rooted racially motivated divisions within the ruling party as well as the October 2004 ridding, by former Swapo Party President Sam Nujoma, the ruling party of cadres with liberation struggle credentials replacing them with praise singing opportunists and personal puppets. Socio-economic factors, such as growing urban poverty, on the one hand, while the ruling party elitists, on the other hand, are viewed as self-enriching immensely is another factor. However, the ever-growing and violent anti-Kwanyama drive is probably the most decisive all of factors for the voter stay away. This Kwanyamophobia is now doubled with the simmering anti-Ndonga agenda within the Swapo Party. Another contributing factor could be the ruling party's ZANU-PF style legacy of violence against political opponents", said ya Nangoloh.

Last Friday's voter turn out of only 5 529 votes cast for the ruling Swapo Party is by 3 831 votes or some 41 percent less than the 9 360 votes the ruling party had garnered in the 2004 Regional Council election. A similar pattern of voter stay away in connection with the May 28 2008 by-election was monitored in the Eenhana Constituency where only about half the 8 214 registered voters in that constituency had actually voted.

Meanwhile, NSHR is concerned about the apparent lack of impartiality and equity on the part of ECN. Prominent media reports last Friday said that several Opposition leaders were arrested on October 30 2008 merely for publishing and disseminating thousands of flyers calling upon voters in the Tobias Hainyeko to abstain from voting.

ECN Director Moses ua Ndjarakana reportedly described the Opposition call on voters to boycott as "illegal". Ua Ndjarakana was quoted as saying that calling upon voters to refrain from voting violated the provisions of Section 104(b) of the Electoral Act 1992 (Act 24 of 1992). In terms of Section 104(b):

"Any person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or herself or by any other person [makes use or threats to make use of any violence, force or restraint, or inflicts or threatens to inflict any bodily or psychological injury … ] or any fraudulent device or contrivance induces, compels or prevails upon any voter to vote or refrain from voting at any election in question or to vote in favour of a particular political party or candidate, or impedes, hinders or prevents the free exercise of the franchise by any voter at any election in question shall be guilty of an offence […]".

"As far as we are concerned, the above provision only applies in cases when and where coercive means, including violence, were used to prevent any voters to cast their ballots for any candidate or party of their choice, including Opposition parties. To distribute flyers and or to verbally urge voters not to participate in what is regarded as an illegal and or unfair electoral process is a fundamental right of everyone as guaranteed under Article 21(1)(a), read with Articles 17 and 24(3), of the of the Namibian Constitution. Hence, Section 104(b) of the Electoral Act 1992 (Act 24 of 1992) would for that reason be declared null and void by a competent court of law", said ya Nangoloh.

Furthermore, in order to maintain electoral integrity, ECN must not only act reasonably and fairly as required of it under Article 18 of the Constitution, but the electoral body must also be seen to be acting reasonably and fairly.

ECN appears to act only if the interests of the ruling Swapo Party were disadvantaged. However, when Swapo Party officials and or members make use or threaten to make use of violence and other means of coercion against members and supporters of Opposition parties, and examples in this regard are plenty, ECN sees no evil and hears no evil. For example, on October 26 2008 former Swapo Party President Sam Nujoma also urged voters to inter alia "reject [RDP candidate Erasmus 'Kaptein' Hendjala] and condemn him to the dustbin of history". However, not a single utterance against Nujoma's pronouncements came from ECN's Ndjarakana and or ECN Chairperson Victor Tonchi.

"This is why there are those citizens who regard certain ECN commissioners and or managers as 'puppets' of the ruling Swapo Party", ya Nangoloh concluded.

NSHR calls upon ECN to act and to be seen to act fairly and reasonably and comply with the requirements imposed upon it by the Electoral Act 1992 (Act 24 of 1992), as amend, and by the provisions of Articles 5 and 18 of the Namibian Constitution.

In case of additional comment, please call Dorkas Phillemon or Phil ya Nangoloh at Tel: 061 236 183 or 061 253 447 (office hours) or Cell: +264 811 299 641 (Dorkas) or E-mail: nshr@nshr.org.na or visit: www.nshr.org.na