S Voting at the Swapo Party’s seventh congress has kicked off, with President Hage Geingob casting the first vote.

A total of 777 delegates are casting their votes at Safari Hotel in Windhoek on Sunday evening for the positions of vice president, secretary general and deputy secretary general.

Speaking to Nampa, Swapo executive director Austin Samupwa said the delay in the voting process, which was initially scheduled for Sunday morning, was due to the adoption of resolutions for the party’s manifesto to win the 2024 national presidential elections.

“The delays were necessary. We had to discuss the resolutions at length because they are important as they are the basis on which the party is going to form the manifesto in order to sell it to the Namibian people to get a vote and a mandate again from 2025 to 2030,” he said.

Samupwa further explained that the voting process will take three to five hours which will be followed immediately by counting of the votes.

Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as well as Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta are the candidates for the vice president position.

Those standing for the position of secretary general are the incumbent, Sophia Shaningwa and Armas Amukwiyu.

Swapo lawmaker Evelyn Nawases-Taeyele, former environment and tourism minister, Uahekua Herunga, and the party’s regional coordinator in Kavango West, David Hamutenya are standing for the position of deputy secretary general.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency