Keetmanshoop Rural
{{Short description|Electoral constituency in Namibia}}
File:Wahlkreis Keetmanshoop Land (2014).svg
{{Contains special characters|Khoekhoe}}
Keetmanshoop Rural is an electoral constituency in the ǁKaras Region of Namibia. It covers an area of {{Convert|37,922|sqkm|abbr=on}} and contains the Krönlein suburb of Keetmanshoop and the villages of Koës and Aroab, the settlements of Seeheim and Klein Karas, as well as several farming communities in the area. Keetmanshoop Rural had a population of 7,219 in 2011, up from 6,399 in 2001.{{cite web | title=Chapter 2: Population Structure, Composition and Density | url=https://cms.my.na/assets/documents/p19dptss1r6qqq76pcp1ssp46tn.pdf | work=2011 Population and Housing Census - ǁKaras Regional Profile | publisher=Namibia Statistics Agency | access-date=24 November 2024 | page=4}} {{As of|2020}} the constituency had 6,398 registered voters.{{Cite web | title=Regional Council 2020 Election Results | publisher=Electoral Commission of Namibia | date=18 January 2021 | series=Interactive map | url=http://elections.na/ | accessdate=6 May 2021 | archive-date=12 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612210020/https://elections.na/ | url-status=dead }}
The constituency office is situated in Aroab.{{cite news
|title=Karas profile
|last=Sasman
|first=Catherine
|newspaper=New Era
|date=10 November 2010
|url=http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=36146
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515225921/http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=36146
|archivedate=15 May 2012
}}
Politics
Keetmanshoop Rural is traditionally a stronghold of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) party. In the 2004 regional elections, Aroab schoolteacher and sitting councillor Willem Appollus (SWAPO) was reelected with 1,095 of the 2,597 votes cast.{{Cite news | title=Electoral Act, 1992: Notification of Result of General Election for Regional Councils | newspaper=Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia | issue=3366 | page=16 | publisher=Government of Namibia | date=3 January 2005 | url=http://www.lac.org.na/laws/2005/3366.pdf | format=pdf}} He was subsequently elected by the ǁKaras Regional council to represent the region in the National Council.[http://www.nid.org.na/view_book_entry.php?book_id=22 Willem Appollus] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611171316/http://www.nid.org.na/view_book_entry.php?book_id=22 |date=2011-06-11 }} Namibian Institute for Democracy Apollus did not seek re-election in 2010. In the 2010 regional elections, SWAPO's Jims Christiaan won the constituency with 736 votes. He defeated challengers was Simon Johannes Jantze of Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP, 648 votes), Bartholomeus Rooi of Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA, 433 votes) and Joseph Isaaks of the Congress of Democrats (CoD, 88 votes).{{Cite web |url=http://www.ecn.na/results/2010/Press_Release_Constituency_-_Karas-Keetmanshoop%20Rural.pdf |title=Election results from Electoral Commission of Namibia |access-date=2011-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717175945/http://www.ecn.na/results/2010/Press_Release_Constituency_-_Karas-Keetmanshoop%20Rural.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-17 |url-status=dead }}
In the 2015 regional elections, Elias Kharuxab of SWAPO won the constituency with 1,288 votes. He defeated challengers Moses Timotheus Titus (DTA, 474 votes) and Willem Martin Stephanus (RDP, 269 votes).{{Cite web | title=Regional Council Election Results 2015 | publisher=Electoral Commission of Namibia | date=3 December 2015 | page=1 | url=http://www.ecn.na/documents/27857/223442/Regional+Counils+Election+Results_Duly+elected+candidates+2015.pdf/32493774-80b3-4be3-9ca1-1f6ce187673a?version=1.0 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208163948/http://www.ecn.na/documents/27857/223442/Regional+Counils+Election+Results_Duly+elected+candidates+2015.pdf/32493774-80b3-4be3-9ca1-1f6ce187673a?version=1.0 | url-status=dead | archive-date=8 December 2015}} The 2020 regional election was Gerrit Witbooi from the Landless People's Movement (LPM, a new party registered in 2018). He obtained 1,817 votes. Kharuxab, the sitting SWAPO councillor, came second with 919 votes. In 2023, Witbooi was recalled as the regional councillor by his party, his membership in the party was also terminated.{{Cite web |title=Witbooi vows to oust LPM |url=https://neweralive.na/posts/witbooi-vows-to-oust-lpm |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=Truth, for its own sake. |language=en}} In the by-election necessitated by Witbooi's withdrawal, LPM candidate Petrus Labuschagne (LPM) claimed the seat with 1270 votes. He defeated other candidates such as Elias Kharuxab (Swapo) 872, Witbooi (now an independent candidate, 463 votes), Johannes Eiman of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM, the new name of the DTA) 275 votes and Magdalena van Staden of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC, an opposition party founded in 2020) 32 votes.{{Cite web |last=Sun |first=Namibian |last2=Ndjembela |first2=Toivo |date=2023-05-16 |title=#JustIn: Final results for the Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency by-election |url=https://www.namibiansun.com/politics/justin-final-results-for-the-keetmanshoop-rural-constituency-by-election2023-05-16 |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=Namibian Sun |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Constituencies of the Karas Region}}
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Category:Constituencies of ǁKaras Region