Namibia finally gets Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its first female president, gaining 57% of the votes. The opposition has disputed the results and plans to challenge the outcome in court.
Reportedly, results of the presidential election have released by the electoral commission of the country on Tuesday, Dec 03, 2024.
As per the results, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of ruling party SWAPO is the new leader of Namibia. The female politician aged 72 is the current vice-president. Her victory extends SWAPO’s 34 years of being in power since it led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.
Netumbo roughly received 57% of valid votes in the presidential race, as recorded in a breakdown given by the Electoral Commission of Namibia.
As per the sources, SWAPO’s female politician in run needed to secure more than 50% of the votes to win and become President.
Later after declared as the President of Namibia, Nandi-Ndaitwah expressed that the Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said that she joined SWAPO in the 1960s when it was fighting for independence and has served in numerous senior roles including foreign minister in the democratic era.
Notably, her main challenger in the presidential election was Panduleni Itula from the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party, who came second with roughly 26% votes against her.
Citizens of Namibia voted separately for the National Assembly. In which, SWAPO won as majority securing 51 of the 96 elected seats. Whereas, IPC won 20 seats and will be the official opposition.
Opposition party IPC said that it will challenge the results in court as they believe the electoral process ‘deeply flawed’. The voting took place on Nov 27, 2024 and was marred by the technical difficulties and ballot paper shortages that is leading to delays in results as voting was extended in some places.
SWAPO’s victory was uncertain due to growing frustration with high levels of unemployment and inequality. Surprisingly, the party retained strong roots in rural areas and loyalty among older voters due to the national liberation struggle.