Otjiwarongo Constituency is an

electoral constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

in the

Otjozondjupa Region Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. Geogr ...

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 22,614 inhabitants in 2004 and 22,931 registered voters . The constituency consists of the town of

Otjiwarongo Otjiwarongo (Herero language, Herero for "beautiful place") is a city of 49,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otjiwarongo Constituency, Otjiwarongo electoral constituency and also the capital ...

and the surrounding rural area.

Politics

Grootfontein is traditionally a stronghold of the

South West Africa People's Organization 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 ...

(SWAPO) party. In the 2004 regional election, SWAPO candidate Ferdinand Frederich Kavetuna received 3,767 of the 6,758 votes cast and became councillor. In the 2010 regional election, former Otjiwarongo mayor Otto Ipinge of the

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 ...

was elected to the Otjozondjupa Regional Council. The 2015 regional election was also won by the SWAPO candidate. Julius Neumbo gained 4,565 votes, followed by Esmerelda Esme ǃAebes of the

Democratic Turnhalle Alliance The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic Front ...

(DTA) with 1,254 votes and Chris Katjivive of the

National Unity Democratic Organisation The National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) is a political party in Namibia. It has been represented in the National Assembly of Namibia and in the National Council of Namibia since it split from the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (now PDM ...

(NUDO) with 597 votes. After councillor Neumbo died in 2019, a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was run in March 2020. Again the SWAPO candidate won. Marlyn Mbakera obtained 2,910 votes, ahead of

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

Erastus Mbumba (1,020 votes) and Sebeteus Guiteb of the

Landless People's Movement The Landless People's Movement is an independent social movement in South Africa. It consisted of rural people and people living in shack settlements in cities. The Landless People's Movement boycotted parliamentary elections and had a history ...

(LPM, a new party registered in 2018, 752 votes). Councillor Mbakera was re-elected in the 2020 regional election. She received 4,173 votes, well ahead of Erastus Mbumba, now 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), a party formed in August 2020, who obtained 1,592 votes. Asariel Iilonga of the

Popular Democratic Movement The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic Front ...

(PDM, the new name of the DTA) came third with 721 votes, followed by Lazarus Januarie (LPM, 524 votes) and Johannes Nauiseb (NUDO, 450 votes).

References

{{coord, 20, 27, S, 16, 39, E, region:NA_type:adm2nd_source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Constituencies of Otjozondjupa Region States and territories established in 1992 1992 establishments in Namibia