Andimba Toivo ya Toivo Sam Nujoma Jacob Kuhangua Louis Nelengani Lucas Nepela
Founded
19 April 1960; 64 years ago (1960-04-19)
Preceded by
Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO)
Headquarters
Erf 2464 Hans-Dietrich Genscher Street Katutura Windhoek Khomas Region
Newspaper
Namibia Today(1960–2015)
Youth wing
SWAPO Party Youth League
Paramilitary wing
People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN)
Ideology
Since 2017: Socialism with Namibian characteristics[1][2][3] 1990–2017: Social democracy[4][5] Statism[6] 1960–1990: Socialism[4] Marxism–Leninism[7][8]
Political position
Centre-left to left-wing
International affiliation
Socialist International
African affiliation
Former Liberation Movements of Southern Africa
Colours
Red (primary) Blue, Green (customary)
Seats in the National Assembly
63 / 96
Seats in the National Council
28 / 42
Regional Councillors
88 / 121
Local Councillors
277 / 378
Pan-African Parliament
4 / 5
Party flag
Website
www.swapoparty.org.na
Politics of Namibia
Political parties
Elections
Politics of Namibia
Constitution
Constituent Assembly
Executive
President
Nangolo Mbumba
Vice-President
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah
Prime Minister
Saara Kuugongelwa
Cabinet
Legislature
National Council
Chairman: Bernard Sibalatani
National Assembly
Speaker: Peter Katjavivi
Judiciary
Supreme Court
Chief Justice: Peter Shivute
Administrative divisions
Regions
Constituencies
Elections
Recent elections
General: 2014
2019
2024
Regional: 2010
2015
2020
Political parties
Foreign relations
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Minister: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (list)
Diplomatic missions of / in Namibia
Nationality law
Passport
Visa requirements
Visa policy
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The South West Africa People's Organisation (/ˈswɑːpoʊ/, SWAPO; Afrikaans: Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; German: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been the governing party in Namibia since the country achieved independence in 1990. The party continues to be dominated in number and influence by the Ovambo ethnic group.
SWAPO held a two-thirds majority in parliament from 1994 to 2019. In the general election held in November 2019, the party won 65.5% of the popular vote and 63 out of the 104 seats in the National Assembly. It also holds 28 out of the 42 seats in the National Council. From November 2017 until his death in February 2024, Namibian President Hage Geingob remained the president of SWAPO after being elected to the position at the party's electoral congress.[9]
^"Socialism with Namibian characteristics". Namibian Sun. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
^"Will Swapo's Socialism Come to 'Mixed Economy' Namibia?". The Namibian. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
^Iileka, Sakeus (9 November 2017). "Politburo approves sweeping changes". The Namibian. p. 1. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
^ abTötemeyer, Gerhard (December 2007). "The Management of a Dominant Political Party system with particular reference to Namibia" (PDF). Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
^Dauth, Timothy (17 January 1995). "From Liberation Organisations to Ruling Parties: The ANC and SWAPO in Transition". NamNet Digest, Vol. 95, no. 3. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
^Seibeb, Henny (12 May 2017). "Social Movements, Party Politics And Democracy In Namibia". The Namibian. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
^Zollmann, Jakob (2021). Socialismes en Afrique. 54. Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l’homme. pp. 593–612. ISBN 9782735126996.
^Soiri, Iina (May 1996). The Radical Motherhood: Namibian Women's Independence Struggle. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet Research Report, No 99. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. ISBN 9789171063809.
^"Namibia's President Geingob elected leader of ruling SWAPO party". Africanews. n.d.
SWAPO for Justice, a splinter group of SWAPO in Namibia, was founded on 4 May 1995. SWAPO-J was led by Sakari Njoba Nghewete. SWAPO-J's cadre was mainly...
political parties contested the National Assembly elections. Hage Geingob of SWAPO was re-elected to the presidency, although his vote share was reduced from...
(PLAN), an armed wing of the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO). The South African Border War was closely intertwined with the Angolan...
The SWAPO Democrats, also known as SWAPO-D, was a political party formed from a break within the South West Africa People's Organization in 1978. Formed...
NDF 2006–2011 Sam Nujoma (SWAPO), first president of Namibia Hifikepunye Pohamba (SWAPO), second president Hage Geingob (SWAPO), first prime minister of...
South African airborne attack on a South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) military camp at the town of Cassinga, Angola on 4 May 1978. Conducted...
president of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) in 1960. Prior to 1960, SWAPO was known as the Ovambo People's Organisation (OPO). He played...
2018 to 2024. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Mbumba has headed several Namibian Government ministries: Agriculture...
margin. In November 2017, Geingob became the third president of the ruling SWAPO Party after winning by a large margin at the party's sixth Congress. He...
In 1973, the UN recognized the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) as the official representative of the Namibian people. Namibia gained independence...
succession. Political parties South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) Symbols † Died in office Politics of Namibia List of colonial governors...
rose to national attention after the decision to challenge the ruling SWAPO Party in the Ondangwa elections. The decision led to condemnation from members...
elections. Hage Geingob of the ruling SWAPO party, won the presidential elections with 87% of the vote. SWAPO also won the National Assembly elections...
and voting behaviour. Some parties are dominated by single ethnic groups; SWAPO itself, its government, and administration, is pre-dominantly Ovambo. Parties...
government. Political parties South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) Politics of Namibia List of colonial governors of South West Africa President...
West African People's Organization (SWAPO) at Ongulumbashe in northern South West Africa (today Namibia). Though SWAPO had already carried out several attacks...
wing of the Namibian-nationalist South West African People's Organization (SWAPO). The UN Security Council passed Resolution 435 in 1978, which set out a...
constitution allows, SWAPO amended the constitution, allowing three terms instead of two. They were able to do this since SWAPO had a two-thirds majority...
a candidate of his party, the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), of which she is also vice president, in 2023. Upon Geingob's death, she...
casting votes, equating to a voter turnout of 97%. Following the election SWAPO supporters celebrated across Windhoek, especially in the segregated and...
Africa, as well as an extensive military and political campaign to eliminate SWAPO in Namibia. Within South Africa, meanwhile, vigorous police action and strict...
members came from the Herero people, while fellow independence movement SWAPO was mostly an Ovambo party. SWANU has a president, a vice-president, and...
election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and was reelected in 2009. Pohamba was the president of SWAPO from 2007 until his retirement in 2015. He...
(SWAPO) base complexes, Chetequera and Dombondola, near to the then-South West Africa/Angola border; an assault by the elite 32 Battalion on SWAPO's...
one of the co-founders of the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) in 1960, and before that, its predecessor the Ovamboland People's Organization...
The SWAPO Party Youth League (SPYL), formerly known as the SWAPO Youth League (SYL), is the youth wing of the SWAPO Party, the ruling party of Namibia...
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