Namibians will observe the presidential elections to determine whether the country will elect its first-ever woman president, on Wednesday, Dec 04, 2024. In total 15 political parties will contest for the presidency and seats in the National Assembly.
Reportedly, these elections are considered to be the most competitive since Namibia gained the independence in 1990. This is because, Namibian Politician – Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is anticipated to become Namibia’s first female president.
Netumbo’s party is leading with 54% votes. She is a veteran of SWAPO who has gone into exile during the apartheid era. SWAPO has been the ruling party in Namibia since Namibia gained independence.
As per the sources, around 1.4 million people, which counts roughly as half of the population of the country who are eligible to vote.
Notably, Incumbent Nangolo Mbumba took over as interim president following the death of Hage Geingob in February and as such is not in the run, for this election.
The present Vice-President of Namibia – Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah from the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) has governed without interruption since the independence in 1990 and is considered the front-runner.
Moreover, Namibia has been battling with the high rates of youth unemployment and the 72-year-old career politician has promised to tackle along with investment in green energy, agriculture and infrastructure.
SWAPO is received the great support from the people and saw a drop from nearly 87% in the presidential election in 2014 to 56% in 2019.
Former Dentist and Lawyer – Panduleni Itula aged 67 from the opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), is also in the run for the presidency. He garnered 29% of the presidential vote as an independent candidate in the 2019 elections. Though, he is a popular choice among younger Namibians.
Furthermore, some political commentators see a second round of voting as a possibility, namely with no candidate securing more than half of the total votes in the first round.