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Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has made history as Namibia’s first female president.
Vice-President Netumbo, who represents Namibia’s ruling SWAPO party was declared winner after last week’s disputed election. The electoral commission said she had won more than 57% of the votes, with her closest rival Panduleni Itula, getting 26%.
Nandi-Ndaitwah , 72, becomes the first woman to rulethe southern African country that has been governed by the South West Africa People’s Orgnisation (SWAPO) since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.
Voting was extended to November 30 after logistical and technical problems, including a shortage of ballot papers, which led to long queues. The opposition party, Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), said it was a deliberate attempt to frustrate voters and it would not accept the results.
IPC’s candidate, Panduleni Itula, 67, said, “IPC shall not recognise the outcome of that election. The party would fight to nullify the elections through the processes that are established within the electoral process.”
Meanwhile, some African leaders have congratulated Nandi-Ndaitwah on her victory. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote on X, “Your election as fifth President of the Republic and the first woman in our region to hold office is a testament to democracy and its ability to transform our societies.”
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo also extends his congratulations. He said the election indicated that the good people of the country had spoken. In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi on Wednesday, he stated that he was particularly happy, that the people of the country reposed their trust and confidence in a woman who had become the first female President of Namibia.
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