Namibia is on the brink of potentially electing its first female president, with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah currently leading the presidential race. As of early Tuesday, with 65.57 percent of votes counted from last week's election, Nandi-Ndaitwah, representing the governing South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), secured 54.82 percent of the vote.
The election, held on November 27, faced significant challenges, including logistical issues and a shortage of ballot papers, prompting an extension of voting at several polling stations until November 30. The main opposition party, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), has already dismissed the election as fraudulent, with their candidate, Panduleni Itula, trailing at 28 percent.
So far, results have been reported from 79 out of 121 constituencies, including nearly all in the capital, Windhoek. The electoral commission indicated that 73 percent of nearly 1.5 million registered voters participated in the election.
Despite her current lead, Nandi-Ndaitwah may be compelled to enter a runoff if she does not surpass the 50 percent threshold when all votes are tallied later this week. In the race for the National Assembly, SWAPO is also leading with 56.38 percent of the votes counted.
The opposition has raised concerns about the election's integrity, citing long queues and technical difficulties that left some voters unable to cast their ballots. Opposition leaders have announced plans to challenge the election results in court, asserting that the electoral process was marred by numerous irregularities.
SWAPO, which has governed Namibia since its independence from South Africa in 1990, faces growing discontent among younger voters due to high unemployment and social inequalities. The opposition has vowed to ensure that the electoral process is scrutinized to uphold democratic standards.