The 1978 election in Namibia
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Date
2015
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Publisher
University of Namibia Press
Abstract
taken place in Namibia since 1989 to elect the President, National Assembly, Regional Councils and Local Authorities. However, it is often forgotten that the first national democratic election in Namibia took place in 1978. Up to this date some elections had taken place for political structures (such as the Legislative Assembly), but the electoral roll had been limited to whites only. A historical analysis is required to consider the reasons why a democratic, national election was held in 1978, and the continuing limitations of the electoral system that led SWAPO, the leading nationalist party, to boycott the election. Sources covering debates of the United Nations (UN) during the 1960s indicate members of the UN were increasingly concerned that progress toward the complete emancipation of many countries and people under colonial status was too slow and should be accelerated. This concern led, for example, to the adoption of a declaration
aimed at granting independence to colonial countries in September 1960. Growing
international pressure prompted South Africa to rethink her colonial approach in
Namibia and hence in 1963, South Africa commissioned the Odendaal Commission
of Enquiry to investigate the affairs of Namibia and propose some sort of internal
settlement that would prevent the emergence of nationalism so as to maintain South
Africa’s upper hand in running the affairs of Namibia (UNIN, 1986, p. 39).
However, despite these declarations and many other resolutions passed by the UN in an effort to end colonialism in Namibia and in many other countries of the world, the UN’s intervention only became significant in the 1970s.
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Keywords
1978 elections, Namibia
Citation
Mashuna, T. (2015). The 1978 election in Namibia. In J. Silvester (Ed.), Re-Viewing Resistance in Namibian History (pp. 178-191). Windhoek: UNAM Press.