Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Swapo elected the first female president
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, of the ruling party South West Africa People's Organization (Swapo), was voted as the first female president of Namibia after last week's election.
The Electoral Commission said he won more than 57% of the votes, his closest rival Panduleni Itula, who got 26%.
After logistical problems and the three-day extension of voting in some parts of the country, Itula said the election process was “deeply flawed”.
His party Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) said it will challenge the results in court.
Most of the opposition parties boycotted the announcement of the results on Tuesday evening in the capital, Windhoek, a Namibian newspaper reported.
Windhoek was reported to be calm on Wednesday, with no celebrations or protests and people going about their normal lives.
After the announcement of his victory Nandi Ndaitwah said: “The nation of Namibia has voted for peace and stability.”
Swapo has ruled this large but sparsely populated southern African country since independence in 1990.
The leader of the party, Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is currently the vice president, is a trusted leader who has served in the highest office of government for a quarter of a century.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa conveyed his greetings to Nandi-Ndaitwah on Wednesday.
“Your election as the fifth President of the Republic and the first woman in our region to hold this high office is a testament to democracy and its ability to transform our communities,” his statement read.
Once she is sworn in, she will join a special club as currently Samia Suluhu Hassan from Tanzania is the only female president in Africa.
In the parliamentary elections held at the same time, Swapo held on to its majority, winning 51 of the 96 elected seats – losing 12. The IPC won 20 seats, and will be the official opposition.
Tirivangani Masawi, a political journalist based in Windhoek, said BBC Newsday programme the election was “Swapo's worst performance since independence”.
A trained dentist, Itula is seen as more charismatic than Nandi-Ndaitwah and managed to dampen Swapo's popularity in the last 2019 presidential election, reducing its vote share to 56% from 87% five years ago.
The IPC has said it will “pursue justice in the courts” and has encouraged people who feel they were unable to vote due to mismanagement by the electoral commission to go to the police and make a statement.
Claus Goldbeck, of the IPC, told the BBC that the vote was “bad for the organisation”.
Some people were sent home after standing in line for 14 hours because there were not enough ballot papers, and scanners broke at many polling stations.
“The Electoral Commission of Namibia [ECN] He had four years to fix things,” he said.
The ECN has admitted to failings in organizing the votes and the lack of votes. But the chairman, Elsie Nghikembua, dismissed the allegations of fraud.
“I urge all Namibians to accept the results in the spirit of unity, separation, understanding and reconciliation,” he said.
Swapo led the nationalist struggle against apartheid South Africa. Before last Wednesday's election, there were suspicions that it would face the brunt of other groups fighting for freedom in the region.
South Africa's African National Congress lost its majority in parliament in May and the Botswana Democratic Party was kicked out of power after nearly six decades following the October elections.
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