Omuthiya

Omuthiyagwiipundi Omuthiya (short form)
Open air market in Omuthiya
Coat of arms
Omuthiyagwiipundi Location in Namibia
Coordinates: 18°21.636′S 16°34.874′E
Country	Namibia
Region	Oshikoto Region
Constituency	Omuthiyagwiipundi
Government
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Johannes Ndeutepo[1]
Area
• Total	48 sq mi (125 km^2)
Elevation	3,540 ft (1,079 m)
Population  (2023)[2][3]
• Total	7,560
• Density	160/sq mi (60/km^2)
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Climate	BSh
Website	http://www.omuthiyatc.org.na/

Omuthiyagwiipundi (short: Omuthiya) is the capital of Oshikoto Region in northern Namibia, situated approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Etosha National Park. It has about 7,500 residents.^[4] Prior to Omuthiya, Tsumeb was the regional capital.^[5] The town has been proclaimed in October 2007 and the Omuthiya Town Council established in September 2008.^[6]

Politics

Omuthiya is governed by a town council that has seven seats.^[7]

Oshikoto Region, to which Omuthiya belongs, is a stronghold of Namibia's ruling SWAPO party. In February 2008, the town was the center of an election controversy as SWAPO faced the Rally for Democracy and Progress in the town's first local authority election.^[8] In 2010, SWAPO won Omuthiya with approximately 92% of the votes.^[9] For the 2015 local authority election no opposition party nominated a candidate, and SWAPO won uncontested.^[10]

SWAPO only narrowly won the 2020 local authority election. It obtained 746 votes and gained four seats. The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020, obtained 630 votes and gained three seats.^[11] Johannes Ndeutepo is^[update] mayor of Omuthiya.^[1]

References

1. Vatleni, Eino (27 November 2023). "Northern re-elected mayors promise quality service delivery". The Namibian.
2. "Table 4.2.2 Urban population by Census years (2001 and 2011)" (PDF). Namibia 2011 - Population and Housing Census Main Report. Namibia Statistics Agency. p. 39. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
3. "2023 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Report" (PDF). Statistics Namibia.
4. Heita, Desie (31 October 2011). "Omuthiya growing at a fast pace". New Era. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012.
5. Shivute, Oswald (21 August 2008). "Oshikoto Regional Council moves to Omuthiya". The Namibian.
6. "About Omuthiya - Omuthiya Town Council". 16 June 2019.
7. "Know Your Local Authority". Election Watch. No. 3. Institute for Public Policy Research. 2015. p. 4.
8. Battlefield Omuthiya The Namibian, 28 February 2008
9. Omuthiya Local Authority Electoral Commission of Namibia
10. "Local elections results". Electoral Commission of Namibia. 28 November 2015. p. 6. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015.
11. "2020 Local Authority Elections Results and Allocation of Seats" (PDF). Electoral Commission of Namibia. 29 November 2020. p. 15. Retrieved 25 January 2021.

18°21.636′S 16°34.874′E