Namibia makes history: Nandi-Ndaitwah elected as first female president

Following a contentious vote that the main opposition has already stated it does not recognize, Namibia’s ruling SWAPO party was proclaimed the victor on Tuesday of last week’s contested elections, bringing in the nation’s first female president.

According to the electoral authority, Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah received slightly more than 57% of the vote, with the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) candidate coming in second with 25.5%.

The mineral-rich southern African nation, which has been run by the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) since gaining independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, is now led by Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, who is the first woman to hold the position.
SWAPO’s 34-year hold on power was put to the question in the November 27 election, when younger voters who were more worried about inequality and unemployment than allegiance to parties from the liberation era gave some support to the IPC.

Due to long lines caused by technological and logistical issues, such as a lack of ballots, voting was postponed to November 30. After waiting for up to twelve hours on the first day of voting, some voters gave up.

The IPC stated that it would not accept the outcome and that this was a calculated attempt to irritate voters.

Panduleni Itula, 67, its presidential candidate, claimed last week that there were a “multitude of irregularities.”

On Saturday, the final day of the prolonged poll, he declared that the “IPC shall not recognize the outcome of that election.” Using the procedures set up in our democratic process, the party would “fight… to nullify the elections,” he declared.

Imms Nashinge, a spokesman for the IPC, stated that the party remained in this stance following the announcement of the SWAPO victory on Tuesday.

The followers of Itula’s party were urged last week to maintain composure while simultaneously “standing firm to ensure that we shall not be robbed nor denied our democratic right to choose our leaders.”

Additionally, a group of human rights attorneys from southern Africa who are election monitors claimed that the voting box delays were frequent and deliberate.

The lack of ballots and the overheating of the electronic tablets used for voter registration were among the issues the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) acknowledged occurred during the election’s planning.

It stated Tuesday that about 77 percent of the country’s over 1.5 million registered voters have cast ballots in the presidential election.

“My fellow Namibians, while elections are inherently competitive, democracy requires us to come together after the results are in. After the results were announced, ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua urged all Namibians to accept them in the spirit of harmony, diversity, understanding, and reconciliation.

In the concurrent national assembly election, SWAPO also won all 51 seats, while the IPC only won 20. Compared to its 63 seats in the previous legislature, SWAPO’s number was lower.

Given that other liberation-era movements in the area have lost support among young voters, such as the Botswana Democratic Party’s ouster from power last month after nearly 60 years, the election was viewed as a crucial test for SWAPO.

Despite being a major exporter of diamonds and uranium, commentators claim that few of Namibia’s approximately three million residents have profited from the country’s wealth in terms of better infrastructure and employment prospects.

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According to the most recent official statistics from 2018, the unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 34 is expected to be 46%, about three times the national average.

One of the rare female leaders on the continent will be Nandi-Ndaitwah, a SWAPO mainstay who goes by her initials, NNN.

In February of this year, the conservative daughter of an Anglican minister was appointed vice president.

During the campaign, she frequently wore blue, red, and green—the colors of her party and the flag of the country—in an attempt to flaunt her years of experience. She is easily recognized by her gold-framed glasses.

NNN stated that she plans to “create jobs by attracting investments using economic diplomacy” as one of her election pledges.