Namibia Elects First Female President

 

Namibia has elected Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its first female president following a disputed election.

Osun Defender reports that Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, would become the first woman to rule the southern African country governed by the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) since independence in 1990.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) announced that she won with over 57 percent of ballots cast.

Panduleni Itula, candidate for the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), polled second with 25.5 percent of the votes.

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The presidential election was extended twice because of logistical and technical challenges which led to a shortage of ballot papers and long queues.

Some voters gave up on the first day of voting after waiting for up to 12 hours.

The IPC said the extension of voting was a deliberate attempt to frustrate voters, adding that it would not accept the results of the poll.

Itula said there was a “multitude of irregularities”, adding that “the IPC shall not recognise the outcome of that election”.

He added that the IPC would “fight to nullify the elections through the processes that are established within our electoral process”.

An organisation of southern African human rights lawyers serving as election monitors said the delays at polling units were intentional and widespread.

The electoral authority admitted to failures in the conduct of the election, including a shortage of ballot papers and the overheating of electronic tablets used to register voters.