One Party Democracy A Non Sequitur?
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Passed around by colonial powers for decades and embroiled in regional cold war fuelled strife in the 1980s, Namibia only gained full independence in 1990. It has since known only one governing party, the South West People's Organisation (SWAPO) which has ruled benevolently, but in a manner that has thwarted the development of a meaningful constitutional opposition. Corruption is an issue, but not a huge one, and most Namibians (certain ethnic groups aside) seem relatively happy to go along with what is in practice a replication of traditional authority structures on a national scale. But the problem with such a polity is that it relies on the wisdom and integrity of the ruling elite (so far, so good) as there are few effective democratic checks and balances on those in power.