Namibia Elects Nandi-Ndaitwah as First Female President

Namibia’s Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) party has been elected the first female president of the country.

She would become the first woman to rule the southern African country governed by the SWAPO since independence in 1990.

The Namibia Electoral Commission (ECN) reported that she won with over 57 percent of ballots cast.

Candidate of the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), Panduleni Itula, polled second with 25.5 percent of the votes.

The presidential election was postponed twice due to logistic and technical issues, which led to a shortage of ballot papers and long queues.

It was gathered that some voters gave up on the first day of voting after waiting for up to 12 hours.

The IPC affirmed that the postponement of voting was an intentional attempt to frustrate voters, stating that it would not accept the results of the poll.

Itula declared that there was a “multitude of irregularities,” stating that “the IPC shall not recognise the outcome of that election.

He added that the IPC would “fight to invalidate the elections through the processes that are set up within our electoral process.”

An organisation of southern African human rights lawyers serving as election monitors affirmed the delays at polling units were deliberate and widespread.

The electoral authority admitted to failures in the conduct of the election, including a shortage of ballot papers and the overheating of electronic tablets used to register voters.