Brigitte Weidlich
10 November 2008
BEN Ulenga was re-elected as president of the Congress of Democrats (CoD) opposition party with an overwhelming majority at a special election congress on Saturday.
Ulenga won 137 votes and the only other candidate, the party's deputy president Nora Schimming-Chase, received 73 ballots out of 210 valid votes cast.
Alfred Chilinda from the Caprivi Region was elected vice president, Arnold Losper from Karas is the new national chairperson and Tsudao Gurirab was elected as secretary general.
Elma Dienda was voted in as treasurer, despite some opposition from CoD national executive committee member Josua Nghishiiko from the Omusati Region.
Dienda is one of the few from the 'rebel' faction of the deeply divided party to have been elected to the new leadership.
The congress was a result of a court order made by Judge Louis Muller in July this year, after the CoD expelled several prominent members, among them Dienda and Schimming-Chase, who walked out of a CoD congress held at Keetmanshoop in May 2007.
The expelled group took the matter to court and won.
A total of 239 of the 300 registered delegates arrived for the congress.
Although all 239 took a ballot paper to vote for the CoD president, five did not vote.
Of the 234 ballots put in the box, 24 were spoilt, leaving 210 valid ballots for the round to elect the CoD president.
The CoD has the status of official opposition party after it won the second largest number of seats in Parliament during the 2004 national elections.
On Saturday afternoon, spontaneous ululations and dancing broke out among Ulenga supporters as lawyer Jesse Schickerling, who chaired the election commission, announced the results.
Delegates first voted for the presidential position, followed by the vice president, national chairperson and secretary general and treasurer.
After each round, the votes were counted in front of CoD representatives of each region and the media were allowed inside.
Voting took off after lunch and lasted until early yesterday morning, ending with the election of the party's 60-strong national executive committee.
Asked to comment on her defeat, Schimming-Chase said: "That is the leader the CoD party wants and as a democrat I congratulate him."
Schimming-Chase did not stand for any other position and her future in CoD remains uncertain.
A visibly relieved and beaming Ulenga said unifying the CoD was his main target.
"We must rebuild unity in the party and show that we are not a party of court cases but that we will now start campaigning in order to win the 2009 elections, just wait and see," Ulenga told The Namibian.
The race for vice president was between Arnold Losper from the Karas Region and Alfred Chilinda from Caprivi.
Chilinda won with 143 votes to 68 for Losper.
But Losper secured the post of national chairperson after being nominated from the floor.
Losper won by 158 votes against 50 for Reiner van Zyl.
Losper is also the CoD town councillor in Keetmanshoop.
Tsudao Gurirab won the vote for secretary general with 136 votes against Martin Mutonga, who received 44 votes.
Some dissatisfied CoD members told The Namibian that Ulenga supporters were allegedly 'bribed' to vote for him.
"They were promised money and favours," said one party member, who requested anonymity.
Gretchen Boois was voted deputy secretary general and Innocentia Makomele is deputy treasurer.
The special congress took place at a conference centre a few kilometres out of Windhoek.
The efficient election process was overseen by a five-member team led by lawyer Jesse Schickerling, who was appointed by the Society of Advocates at the eleventh hour on Friday at 12h30.
The CoD election commission could not decide on a chairperson during its meeting on Thursday night.
As per court order, they turned to the Society of Advocates to request a chairperson on Friday morning.
The commission consisted of six members - three each of the two rival factions.
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