By McGeorge Mbare
Namibia‘s vice president Nandi –Ndaitwah is set to become the country’s first female president after SWAPO‘s election triumph to extend its reign beyond 35 years.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia announced that the Ndaitwah has won and duly elected garnering by 638560 votes beating her closest competitor the leader of Independent Patriot for Change (IPC) Panduleni Itula who secured 284 186 votes. That means the Presidnet elect garnered 57% of the vote.
Additionally, Nandi –Ndaitwah has become the first Female president in Southern Africa and joins the ranks Tanzania’s Samia Hassan, Liberia‘s Ellen Johnson, Ethiopia’s Sahle –work Zewde and Hilda Banda of Malawi.
Meanwhile, Opposition leaders boycotted the announcement of the election results, except AR leader Job Amupanda.Opposition leaders have indicated the desire to challenge the polls results in court, citing that the elections were disrupted and lacked transparency.
According to the Namibian daily paper despite SWAPO‘s Nandi –Ndaitwah ‘s historic victory ,her party secretary general Sophia Shaningwa refused to answer questions about why she seems unhappy that her party and presidential candidate won the Namibia’s 2024 general elections. Additionally SWAPO’s nine incumbent ministers have failed to make it back to the parliament.
In an era where liberation movements are increasingly facing challenges in Southern Africa, SWAPO has managed to extend its reign beyond 35 years since the country gained its independence as the first female President is set to be Namibia’s 5th President.