Namibia Makes History by Electing First Female President

Namibia elects its first female president in a landmark moment, signaling a new era of leadership and progress for gender equality in the nation.

Last Tuesday, Namibia’s ruling SWAPO party was announced as the winner of the contentious elections. This victory introduces the southern African nation’s first female president following a disputed vote that has already been dismissed by the main opposition.

The election authority announced that Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah received slightly more than 57 percent of the votes, while the main opposition candidate from Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) secured 25.5 percent.

At 72, Nandi-Ndaitwah becomes the first woman to lead the mineral-rich southern African nation, which has been governed by the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) since achieving independence in 1990.

The election on November 27 was extended twice due to logistical and technical issues, such as a shortage of ballot papers, which resulted in lengthy queues.

On the initial day of voting, some voters abandoned their efforts after enduring waits that lasted as long as 12 hours.

The IPC has stated that this was an intentional effort to impede voters and it will not recognize the election results.

The 67-year-old presidential candidate Panduleni Itula stated last week that there were a “multitude of irregularities.”

Regardless of the result, “the IPC will not acknowledge the outcome of that election,” he stated on Saturday, which was the final day of the extended voting period.

The opposition refuses to accept the election results.

Itula stated that the IPC would “strive to invalidate the elections by utilizing the procedures established in our electoral process.”

An organization of human rights lawyers from southern Africa, serving as election monitors, claimed that the delays at the ballot box were deliberate and widespread.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) acknowledged shortcomings in the voting process, such as a lack of sufficient ballot papers and issues with electronic tablets overheating during voter registration.

According to the statement on Tuesday, nearly 77 percent of almost 1.5 million registered voters in the sparsely populated country had participated in the presidential election.

The election was viewed as a crucial test for SWAPO, especially considering that other liberation-era movements in the region have fallen out of favor with younger voters.

Over the past six months, South Africa’s African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority, and after nearly 60 years in power, the Botswana Democratic Party was ousted.

Namibia is a leading exporter of uranium and diamonds, yet analysts suggest that this wealth has not significantly benefited its nearly three million residents in terms of enhanced infrastructure or job opportunities.

According to the most recent official figures from 2018, unemployment among individuals aged 15 to 34 is estimated at 46 percent—nearly three times higher than the national average.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, a prominent figure in SWAPO commonly referred to by her initials NNN, will be one of the few female leaders on the continent.

She, the conservative daughter of an Anglican pastor, assumed the role of vice president in February this year.

Easily identified by her gold-framed glasses, she sought to highlight the wisdom of her years throughout the campaign, frequently donning blue, red, and green—colors representing both her party and the national flag.

As part of her election promises, NNN mentioned her plan to “generate employment by drawing in investments through economic diplomacy.”

AFP