Namibia elects first female president
Namibia’s ruling SWAPO party was declared the winner of last week’s contested elections on Tuesday, paving the way for the country’s first female president. However, the main opposition has already rejected the results, stating they do not recognize the vote.
Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah secured just over 57 percent of the vote, followed by the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) candidate with 25.5 percent, according to the election authority’s announcement.
At 72, Nandi-Ndaitwah becomes the first woman to lead Namibia, a mineral-rich southern African country governed by the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) since its independence in 1990.
The November 27 election was delayed twice due to logistical and technical issues, including a shortage of ballot papers, resulting in long queues. Some voters abandoned the polls on the first day after waiting up to 12 hours.
The IPC has claimed that the delays were a deliberate attempt to frustrate voters and has stated it will not accept the election results.
Its presidential candidate, Panduleni Itula, 67, asserted last week that there were a “multitude of irregularities.”
“No matter the outcome, the IPC will not recognize the results of this election,” he declared on Saturday, the final day of the extended voting period.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at NeptunePrime.
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