Namibia Gets Its First Female Leader: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Namibia has elected its first female President, with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah declared the winner of last week's disputed elections. Defying predictions of a runoff election, Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah, the current Vice President of the Southern African country, won with 57 per cent of the vote. With this, Namibia's ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) party extended its 34-year hold on power.

“The Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability,” the 72-year-old leader said after the final results were announced late on Tuesday.

The November 27 election was a test of SWAPO's grip on power, with the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) attracting some support from younger generations, which are more concerned by unemployment and inequality than loyalty to liberation-era parties. 

About Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah, a SWAPO stalwart known by her initials NNN, will be among the few women leaders on the continent. The conservative daughter of an Anglican pastor, she became vice president in February this year.

Recognisable by her gold-framed glasses, NN joined SWAPO in the 1960s when it was fighting for independence and has served in numerous senior roles including foreign minister in the democratic era.

Among her election promises, NNN said she intends to "create jobs by attracting investments using economic diplomacy."

She received roughly 57 per cent of valid votes in the presidential race, according to a breakdown given by the Electoral Commission of Namibia. 50 per cent votes are needed to secure a victory.

Disputed Election

The November 27 presidential election was marred by technical difficulties and ballot paper shortages, leading to a delay in results as voting was extended in some places till November 30. This led to long queues, with some voters giving up on the first day of voting after waiting for up to 12 hours, according to a report by AFP. 

The IPC called it a deliberate attempt to frustrate voters and it would not accept the results. Its presidential candidate Panduleni Itula, 67, said last week there were a "multitude of irregularities".

The IPC candidate received 25.5 per cent votes in the November 27 polls, the election authority said, even as the main opposition said it does not recognise the results.

The "IPC shall not recognise the outcome of that election", he said on Saturday, the last day of the extended vote. The party would "fight... to nullify the elections through the processes that are established within our electoral process", Me Itula said.

Itula last week called on his party's supporters to be calm but also "stand firm to ensure that we shall not be robbed neither denied our democratic right to choose our leaders."

Reacting to the announcement of the SWAPO victory, IPC spokesperson Imms Nashinge said the party maintained this position. 

SWAPO's Undisputed Rule

SWAPO has ruled the mineral-rich southern African country since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. The party also had a clean sweep of the concurrent national assembly election, securing 51 of the 96 elected seats. The IPC won 20 seats and will be the official opposition. Namibians voted separately for the National Assembly. 

However, SWAPO's tally was down from its 63 seats in the previous assembly. The presidential election was seen as a key test for the ruling party after other liberation-era movements in the region have lost favour with young voters including with the Botswana Democratic Party which was ousted from power in that country last month after almost six decades. 

Political analysts had said that 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.

Namibia is a major uranium and diamond exporter but analysts say not many of its nearly three million people have benefited from that wealth in terms of improved infrastructure and job opportunities. Unemployment among 15- to 34-year-olds is estimated at 46 per cent, according to the latest official figures from 2018, which is almost triple the national average.

But, Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah had managed to unite different factions within SWAPO, Analyst Rakkel Andreas told Reuters, adding that her reputation had not been tarnished by corruption allegations, unlike other party members.

"She is a stateswoman. She has been in some form of leadership since we gained independence...She understands the system," Andreas said.