Namibia’s ruling party candidate, Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, is poised to become the country’s first female president as early election results show her in the lead. With nearly two-thirds of the votes from the November 27 election counted, Nandi-Ndaitwah of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) holds 54 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission.
The opposition candidate, Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), trails with 28 percent. However, Nandi-Ndaitwah may face a runoff if her final vote share falls below 50 percent.
The election, extended twice due to logistical and technical issues such as ballot shortages, saw widespread voter frustration. Long queues forced some voters to abandon the process on the first day. Despite this, voter turnout reached 73 percent of the nearly 1.5 million registered voters, the commission reported.
Itula, 67, has rejected the election as illegitimate, citing “numerous irregularities” and declaring the IPC will not recognize the results. “The rule of law has been grossly violated,” he stated, calling the process neither free nor fair.
SWAPO, which has governed Namibia since achieving independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, faces growing discontent over high youth unemployment and persistent inequality, particularly among younger voters.
If confirmed as president, the 72-year-old Nandi-Ndaitwah would lead the sparsely populated, resource-rich country of three million people as its first female head of state. Results so far cover 79 of Namibia’s 121 constituencies, including most of the capital, Windhoek.