Landslide Victory for Swapo in 1994: Many New Seats But Few New Votes

Abstract

In the presidential and parliamentary elections held on 7–8 December 1994, the South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo) was able to build on its achievements in the 1992 regional elections and win a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. Against the larger-than-life father-figure of President Sam Nujoma, the opposition never really had a chance and lost 12 seats. A comparison of the results of the 1989 and 1994 elections reveals only a small decline in the ballots cast for Swapo as against a great loss of support for the opposition parties, mainly because the sharp drop in the number who voted was at their expense.