Epembe is a constituency in the

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi as well as the self-governed village of Okongo and the proclaimed settlements Ongha, Ongenga and O ...

of northern

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. It had 6,489 registered voters . The constituency covers an area of . The constituency office is located in Epembe. The constituency had a population of 16,229 in 2011, up from 14,860 in 2001. Settlements in this constituency include Eenheni, Egongo, Ekuma, Etambo la Mushi Onamogani, Etsapa, Iikelo, Ohenghono-Ohamikoka, Ohamukulungudju, Onhinda, Okuuya, Othilku, Oondunda, Onamvula A, Onamungonzi, Omuhongo, Omalambo, Onanyati, Ombaba, Oshamono, Okahwandada, Oshiweda, Onaame, Omushuwa, Omufiya wa Amutenya wa Shiweda, Ohamwiimbi, Okakwena, Onhinda, Ohamatundu Omevataahekele, Okamwandi, Onangolo and Onamundidi. Many settlements in the constituency are only accessible via

4x4 A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case provi ...

, have only weak cell phone network coverage, and access to clean water is not universally available. Health and education facilities are far away for many residents, with the nearest clinics at Epembe and Onangolo.

Politics

As is common in all constituencies of former

Owamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan and later a non-geographic ethnic-based second-tier authority, the Representative Authority of the Ovambos, in South West Africa (present-day Namibia). The apartheid government stat ...

, Namibia's ruling

SWAPO Party The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

has dominated elections since

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. In the 2004 regional election SWAPO candidate Johannes Nakwafila received 4,731 of the 4,750 votes cast. It won the 2015 regional election uncontested, as no opposition party fielded a candidate. The 2020 regional election was also won by the SWAPO candidate. Matheus Nanghama received 3,136 votes, far ahead of Immanuel Kashona of the

Independent Patriots for Change The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) is a political party in Namibia. It was founded by Panduleni Itula in August 2020. As an independent presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Itula won the best result of a losing candidate in a ...

(IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020, who obtained 279 votes.

References

{{coord, 17, 46, S, 16, 12, E, region:NA_type:city_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Constituencies of Ohangwena Region States and territories established in 1992 1992 establishments in Namibia