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Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, from the governing South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo), has been elected as Namibia’s first female president following last week’s disputed election.
The electoral commission announced that she secured more than 57% of the votes, while her closest rival, Panduleni Itula, garnered 26%. However, logistical challenges and a three-day extension of polling in some areas led Itula to allege electoral malpractice, stating on Saturday that his party would not recognize the results.
In response, most opposition parties boycotted the results announcement on Tuesday evening in the capital, Windhoek, according to The Namibian newspaper.
“The Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said following the announcement, as reported by Reuters.
Swapo, which has governed Namibia since its independence in 1990, maintains its dominance in the country. Nandi-Ndaitwah, a party stalwart and current vice-president, has held high government office for over 25 years, earning widespread trust.
Once sworn in, she will join a small group of female leaders in Africa, alongside Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan, the continent’s only other sitting female president.
Panduleni Itula, a trained dentist and leader of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), is considered more charismatic than Nandi-Ndaitwah. He managed to weaken Swapo’s popularity in the 2019 presidential election, reducing its vote share from 87% in 2014 to 56%.
The IPC announced its intention to “pursue justice through the courts” and urged citizens who felt disenfranchised due to alleged mismanagement by the electoral commission to report their grievances to the police.
Swapo, which led the liberation struggle against apartheid South Africa, had faced speculation about its continued dominance ahead of the general election. Similar liberation parties in the region, like South Africa’s African National Congress and Botswana’s Democratic Party, have recently suffered significant electoral losses.
