Succession debate thrown open

President Sam Nujoma's exit from Namibian politics in 2005 is expected to have a significant impact on the ruling party, SWAPO, analysts said on Thursday. In a recent interview with the London-based New African magazine, Nujoma reiterated earlier comments that he would not seek re-election in the 2005 polls. "I can tell you today that I don't need a fourth term, because the party machinery is there to take care of affairs. Some people are demanding it, but I don't think I want to do it," he told New African. Nujoma, the veteran liberation leader, has been at the helm of Namibian politics since independence in 1990, and his departure is expected to pose a challenge to party unity. "SWAPO has never had another leader and, up until now, there hasn't been any real debate around succession. It would be interesting to see just how succession is going to take place. If Nujoma handpicks his successor, then obviously there would be questions of autonomy. Although there has been speculation over who the frontrunners are [for the presidency], it remains an open question," Christiaan Keulder, director of the Windhoek-based Institute for Policy Research, told IRIN. Keulder added that a group of traditional leaders had been campaigning for Nujoma to stay on after his third term ended in March 2005. But he noted that there had not been a concerted effort by the political establishment for a fourth term for Nujoma. Namibia's constitution allows two presidential terms but, after heated debate within SWAPO in 2000, the constitution was amended to allow Nujoma a third term. SWAPO has said the current constitution must be followed and that another candidate would be presented to the polls in two years. The ruling party's central committee is expected to hold an extraordinary congress in 2004 to discuss Nujoma's succession. "Whoever takes over from the president is likely to encounter some resistance from the old guard within SWAPO. A second president will have very much the same issues to deal with as Nujoma had. Poverty continues to be serious concern, but equally important is the land issue. Land reform is likely to be one of the key challenges for the next president," Keulder said.