Nandi-Ndaitwah Elected As Namibia's First Female President
The governing South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) candidate, Ndemupelila Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has been declared the winner of Namibia’s presidential election, making her the country’s first female president.
Following last week’s contested election, Nandi-Ndaitwah (72) secured over 57% of the votes cast, while her closest rival, Panduleni Itula from the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), received 26%.
In the National Assembly election, SWAPO won 51 of the 96 seats, while the IPC won 20 seats.
The results were announced on Tuesday evening by Elsie Nghikembua, chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), in the capital city of Windhoek. Said Nghikembua:
In the presidential elections,15 candidates participated… by the powers vested in me as the chairperson of the ECN, [I] do hereby declare that Nandi-Ndaitwah has been duly elected the president of Namibia.
Following logistical issues and a three-day extension of polling in some areas, Itula said on Saturday that his party would not recognise the election results, citing allegations of electoral malpractice.
As a result, many opposition parties decided to boycott the results announcement.
SWAPO has been in power in Namibia, a large but sparsely populated southern African country, since 1990, when it gained independence from apartheid South Africa.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, a party stalwart and current vice president, is a trusted leader who has served in high government positions for 25 years.
Nandi-Ndaitwah was promoted to vice president from minister of foreign affairs in February after President Hage Geingob died while in office.
Once sworn in, she will join an exclusive group, as Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan is currently the only female president in Africa.
Itula, a trained dentist, is regarded as more charismatic than Nandi-Ndaitwah. He reduced SWAPO’s popularity in the 2019 presidential election, lowering its vote share from 87% to 56%.
The IPC has announced plans to seek justice through the courts and has urged people who believe they were unable to vote due to mismanagement by the electoral commission to file reports with the police.
More: Pindula News
