Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah elected president of Namibia, according to the electoral commission

Namibia elected its first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72 years old and current vice-president from the ruling party, in the first round with 57.31% of the vote, the electoral commission of Namibia announced on Tuesday evening, December 3. this desert country in southern Africa.

The South West African People's Organization (Swapo), the party of what the country nicknames “NNN”, runs the mineral-rich country, which has a population of 3 million, two-thirds of whom are under 30 years old. , since its independence in 1990.

The first opponent, Panduleni Itula, came far behind with only 25.5% of the votes in this election which saw a high turnout of 76%, but also numerous screw-ups forcing the vote to be extended by several days.

“Thank you for your trust”the new president soberly declared, affirming that she would keep her commitments made to voters. During her campaign, she notably promised the creation of more than 250,000 jobs in five years, warning that “the business world can only prosper if politics is stable”. She is also committed to attracting investment “thanks to political diplomacy”.

Figure of the struggle for independence, M^me Nandi-Ndaitwah holds conservative positions, notably being a supporter of strict legislation on abortion.

Swapo also won the legislative elections which were held at the same time, obtaining 51 seats against 20 for the IPC. This score is, however, down compared to the 63 seats held by Swapo in the previous assembly.

Ballot shortage

The presidential and legislative elections of November 27 had to be extended twice due to logistical and technical problems. Mr. Itula, a 67-year-old former dentist and lawyer, denounced chaotic elections which, according to him, were the subject of “multiple irregularities”.

He said he intended to ” Cancel ” according to “the planned procedures” what poll “whatever the outcome”. “We cannot describe these elections as free, fair and legitimate”he denounced on Saturday.

On the first day of voting, endless queues forced some voters to give up, after waiting up to twelve hours, in this country proud of its peace and the solidity of its democracy.

The Southern African Human Rights Lawyers' Organization, which sent an observation mission, reported “deliberate delays in the arrival of ballot papers”.

Cases of overheating of electronic tablets used to verify identities and shortages of ballots in many offices, having considerably slowed down the vote, were highlighted by the observation missions of the African Union (AU) and the Community of Southern African Development (SADC).

Swapo, a former Marxist-inspired movement from the time of the struggle against the occupation of apartheid South Africa, has recently seen its popularity erode under the weight of massive youth unemployment, which has become a large share of the electorate.

Namibia, which is among the world's leading suppliers of uranium, remains, after South Africa, the second most unequal country on the planet, according to the World Bank.