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Africa: Namibia elects first woman President, Nandi-Ndaitwah

Africa: Namibia elects first woman President, Nandi-Ndaitwah

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Virendra Pandit

 

New Delhi: The Republic of Namibia, formerly part of apartheid South Africa, has elected its first woman President, Nandi-Ndaitwah, the media reported on Wednesday.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, won with 57 percent of the vote, contrary to predictions that she might be forced into a run-off, results released by the country’s electoral commission show.

“The Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said after being declared President-elect.

Her win cements her governing South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) party’s 34-year hold on power since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

Opposition parties, however, rejected the results after the polls were allegedly marred by technical problems, including shortages of ballot papers and other issues, causing election officials to extend voting until Saturday last.

Long queues were seen as some voters gave up on the first day of voting after waiting for up to 12 hours.

The opposition parties said the extension was illegal and pledged to challenge the results in court.

The candidate for the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), Panduleni Itula, trailed Nandi-Ndaitwah with 25.5 percent of the vote, according to the commission.

“The rule of law has been grossly violated and we cannot call these elections by any means or measure as free, fair, and legitimate,” Itula said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah was promoted to vice president in February after President Hage Geingob died while in office.

While in power for decades, SWAPO has disenchanted young voters due to high youth unemployment rates and enduring inequalities.

She got her start in politics by taking part in the country’s underground independence movement in the 1970s. She returned from the UK to join parliament in 1990 and went on to serve as minister with several portfolios over the years.

 

 

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