Namibia elected its first woman president with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah winning last week’s presidential elections disputed by technical and logistical issues in the country.
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The 72-year-old, the current vice-president of the country, won with 57 per cent of the vote, extending the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) party’s grip on power since independence from South Africa in 1990.
“The Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability,” Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah said after the final results were announced late on Tuesday.
Her victory defied predictions that she might be forced into a run-off after opposition parties rejected the results after polling had to be extended for three days in some parts of the country following technical and logistical problems.
Her closest rival Panduleni Itula, who got 26 per cent of the votes, had alleged electoral malpractice.
The polling was scheduled to conclude last Wednesday but had to be extended till Saturday in some parts after polling booths suffered shortages of ballot papers and other issues.
The opposition parties said the extension was illegal and boycotted the results announcement on Tuesday, saying that they will challenge the results in court.
Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah is known as a dedicated Swapo loyalist who joined the party at the age of 14 and was part of an underground independence movement against South African rule in Namibia in the 1970s which was responsible for the implementation of apartheid.
Her leadership in Swapo’s Youth League laid the foundation for her political rise, eventually earning her ministerial positions in foreign affairs, tourism, child welfare, and information.
She was promoted to vice president in February after president Hage Geingob died while in office and will become the fifth president of Namibia after independence.
Her victory as the first female president of Namibia adds her to the exclusive club with Tanzania’s president Samia Suluhu Hassan. She, however, took office through constitutional succession and not a popular vote.
“Swapo Wins. Netumbo Wins. Namibia Wins. Now Hard Work,” the ruling party posted on its official account on social media site X.
Mr Itula, of the Independent Patriots for Change opposition party, won the second-largest number of seats in parliament behind Swapo.
The Independent Patriots for Change have led the criticism of the vote and pledged to lodge a challenge in court, calling the three-day extension for voting unconstitutional.
Swapo maintained a grip on power in Namibian politics for nearly three decades. However, its popularity came under question in the 2019 election when it lost its two-thirds majority, reducing its vote share to 56 per cent from 87 per cent.
It faced challenges of growing unemployment, allegations of corruption on high ranking officials of Swapo and high levels of inequality.
This year in May, South Africa’s African National Congress lost its majority in parliament for the first time since the end of apartheid. The Botswana Democratic Party was also booted out of power after ruling since independence from Britain in 1966.
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