"Namibia's Vice President Aims to Make History as First Female President Amid Political Shifts in Southern Africa"
Namibia’s Vice President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has the potential to make history as the country’s first female president if she secures victory in Wednesday’s presidential election.
Over 1.4 million Namibians—about half the nation’s population—have registered to vote in the elections, which feature 15 political parties competing for the presidency and seats in the National Assembly.
Speaking at a rally for her party, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), Nandi-Ndaitwah said, “I’m proud to have the mentality of liberation. Having liberated the people of Namibia politically, I’m now ready to liberate them economically.”
Meanwhile, McHenry Venaani, leader of the Popular Democratic Movement, urged voters to turn out in force, calling on them to “rise up, stand in the long queues, and cast their vote for the future we all deserve.”
Early voting results from Namibia’s foreign missions, seafarers, and security forces—announced by the Electoral Commission of Namibia—show Nandi-Ndaitwah and SWAPO leading the race. SWAPO has been in power since Namibia gained independence from South Africa’s apartheid regime in 1990.
However, the party has faced declining support in recent years. In 2019, SWAPO lost its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly for the first time since 1994, a drop linked to allegations of corruption and money laundering in the country’s fishing industry. Two cabinet ministers were arrested, and associated businessmen were convicted and imprisoned.
If elected, Nandi-Ndaitwah would join the ranks of Africa’s trailblazing female leaders, including Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the continent’s first elected female president in 2005, Malawi’s Joyce Banda, and Samba-Panza of the Central African Republic.
This election comes amid significant political shifts in southern Africa. This year, South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) lost its 30-year parliamentary majority, Botswana’s Democratic Party was ousted after 58 years in power, and in Mauritius, the opposition achieved a landslide victory in one of Africa’s most stable democracies.
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