Key Points
- Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah wins Namibia’s first female presidency.
- Opposition parties boycott ECN’s announcement of election results.
- Political scientist questions the legitimacy of the election process.
Namibia’s fifth president, Swapo Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was elected, becoming the nation’s first female president.
Nandi-Ndaitwah becomes Namibia’s first female president
Panduleni Itula, the head of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), received 284,186 votes, while Nandi-Ndaitwah received 638,560. Elsie Nghikembua, the chairman of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), declared the outcome on Tuesday night.
“Fifteen candidates ran in the presidential elections. I thus announce that Nandi-Ndaitwah has been legitimately elected president of Namibia, using the authority granted to me as the ECN chairwoman,” Nghikembua stated.
Except for Affirmative Repositioning leader Job Amupanda, opposition leaders boycotted the announcement, including the IPC and the Landless People’s Movement.
Citing a lack of transparency, ongoing technological difficulties, and possible voter disenfranchisement, a number of opposition parties want to contest the results in court.
On October 29, 1952, Nandi-Ndaitwah was born in Onamutai, in northern Namibia. Out of thirteen children, she was the ninth.
She was brought up in a politically engaged household by her mother, Justina Nekoto Shaduka-Nandi, and father, an Anglican pastor. Before leaving into exile, Nandi-Ndaitwah taught at St. Mary’s Mission School in Odibo, where she was a student.
“Political activities were always around me when I was growing up,” she said in an interview with Swapo Today last year. “Kaxumba Kandola and others organised Swapo activities. Due to the large trees that provided shade, they would meet close to our home.
According to Newsday, Nandi-Ndaitwah gradually advanced through the government ranks following independence. She became well-known for her environmental efforts and for advocating for the rights of women and children.
It was not always easy for her to become president. As part of an agreement to gain support for then-president Hage Geingob, Nandi-Ndaitwah appeared set to become Namibia’s first female vice president following the 2012 Swapo convention. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s allies, however, pushed him to merge the positions of deputy prime minister and international relations after Geingob failed to follow through.
Political scientist questions the legitimacy of election process
Rui Tyitende, a political scientist, wonders if Namibians who were unable to cast ballots or who think the election process was defective will accept Nandi-Ndaitwah’s presidency as legitimate.
“Look, despite my desire to be president, I would have wanted this to be done within the confines of the law,” Tyitende stated if she had been a leader and had knowledge of the events leading up to the elections.
He contends that regardless of the legality of the prolonged election period, certain Namibians who were unable to cast ballots on November 27 ought to have been given another chance.
