The candidate from Namibia’s ruling SWAPO party, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was on course to become the southern African country’s first female leader by winning a presidential election last week, electoral commission results showed on Tuesday.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, joined SWAPO in the 1960s and has held numerous senior roles including foreign minister. Currently she is the vice president. Her victory would extend SWAPO’s 34 years in power since it led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.
At 1545 GMT, the electoral commission’s online portal showed Nandi-Ndaitwah was leading the presidential race with 58.1% of the vote after results from 91.8% of constituencies had been declared.
Her nearest challenger, Panduleni Itula, had 25.4% of the vote. Nandi-Ndaitwah needs to secure more than 50% to avoid a second round of voting.
Namibians voted separately for the National Assembly. SWAPO was leading the parliamentary race with 52.68% of the votes counted so far.
The Nov. 27 vote was marred by technical difficulties and ballot paper shortages, leading to a delay in results as voting was extended in some places.
The Independent Patriots for Change are expected to file a legal challenge against how the election was run and the results. They are likely to be joined by other opposition parties.
But the electoral commission says there will be no rerun despite the complaints from the opposition. Observers have generally deemed previous elections in Namibia to be free and fair.
Political analysts had said a SWAPO victory was uncertain due to growing frustration with high levels of unemployment and inequality, but that the party retained strong roots in rural areas and loyalty among older voters due to the national liberation struggle.
If SWAPO, which seems most likely, it would be a stunning victory at a time when voters in neighbouring countries have punished their incumbent governments. South Africa’s ANC lost its majority while in Botswana, the ruing party in the saddle for 58 years was swept out of office.
With Reuters inputs
