A Tale Of Two Namibian Political Parties: A Stylistic And Rhetorical Analysis Of The 2014 Election Manifestos Of Swapo And DTA

Abstract

During the election campaign period in Namibia, different political parties attempt to use all means possible to convince the electorate. Political discourse is one of the most crucial means of persuasion that political parties employ to woo voters. Political parties design their election manifestos through the use of stylistic features and rhetorical devices as means of persuasion. This qualitative study examines and explains how stylistic features and rhetorical devices were used in the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) and Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) election manifestos during the 2014 Namibian presidential elections. The two parties were purposely selected because the SWAPO party won elections in 2014 while the DTA came second as the official opposition party and the stylistic and rhetorical components used in the manifestos may have contributed to their success. This study employed the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) theory to examine the stylistic features and rhetorical devices used in selected manifestos and used Aristotle’s three proofs of persuasion, ethos, pathos and logos to explain the rhetorical significance of the language techniques identified. The study revealed that the SWAPO party manifesto mainly used its past achievements to persuade the voters while the DTA focused on promises and future plans for persuasion. Both manifestos made use of multi-modal aspects, lexical, syntactic and semantic literary devices and deviations to persuade voters. Pathos was used in the manifestos to stir up the emotions of voters for respective parties and their presidential candidates. Ethos was employed through constant reference to individuals who are respected by voters. The manifestos made use of logos through the presentation of facts, mainly on what has been achieved and the country’s economic and social situation as well logical arguments on what should be done to develop the country.