The Republic of Namibia is known as one of the most peaceful and democratic countries in Africa but the recent happenings has proven how dangerous politics can be when diagnosed with election fever.

Election is the key element or ingredient of a democratic country, therefore, as a Journalism student, living and studying in Namibia for almost three years, I could not let the general elections passby without expressing my humble opinion in the matter as an international observer.

Just like in many African countries, the pre-election stage was marked by a lack of effectiveness from the Electoral Commission when it comes to the delivery of voters registration materials. Unfortunate or fortunately there is always someone to be blamed for mistakes, and this time the Electoral Commision allegedly blamed the Government for not making the vehicles available on time.

There is also a critical element that became a culture, especially in SADC region, where the ruling political parties always have more broadcasting airtime and coverage compared to other parties, and Namibia is no exception.

Consequently, the other political parties criticised the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) for unfair election campaign coverage towards the other political parties.

The most critical time of the pre-election stage was the undemocratic behaviour from the South West Africa Political Organization (SWAPO) members towards other political party members, in particular the members of the Rally for Democratic Progress (RDP), who were beaten and stoned while on their political rallies in different parts of the country.

It only shows how politically ignorants some people are by not understanding that in a democratic system nobody has to force his or her way to others because everyone is free to be associated to a political party of their choice and to vote for those who promise them a better future.

Eventhough, there is no much time for the coming elections, there is a need for the Media and the politicians to politically educate the masses in order to avoid what recently happened in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Africans are known to be traditional voters, who vote for a certain political party just because “it is the mother party” or ‘it brought independence to the country”, instead of swing voters who vote for those who offer them effective promises for a better future.

Traditional voters normally vote for gratitude or in order to avoid war, but swing voters vote for change and progress of a country.

A vote is one’s choice for the future and it doesn’t have to be done out of gratitude because it is the main way on how people can show their power and it makes a lot of difference.

I would advise all Namibians to think carefully about their choices before making the decision to vote, no matter if it is DTA, NUDO, SWANU, SWAPO, RDP or etc, but to vote for those whose promises seems more likely to be made possible in order to serve the common interest of the Namibian people.

Regards