Namibia Makes History As It Elects First Woman President

Namibia’s ruling party, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), will retain its status as woman leader, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah secures the Presidency, a first for the country.

According to reports, the current Vice President secured 57% of the votes.

Namibia, which has a population of about three million, as per 2024 figures from the World Bank, initially went to the polls on November 27. However, the elections had to be extended until November 29-30 at some stations, reportedly due to technical challenges, including a shortage of ballot papers.

This has contributed to a dispute of the results by opposition parties, who have claimed the extension was illegal.

Opposition leader Panduleni Itula, of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), which secured 25.5% of the votes, was quoted as saying that the “IPC shall not recognize the outcome of that election”, and that the party would fight “to nullify the elections through the processes that are established within our electoral process”.

According to reports, President-elect Nandi-Ndaitwah commented on the results on Tuesday, stating, “The Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability”.

Fellow female leader, Samia Suluhu Hassan, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, commented on the appointment on X.

“On behalf of the Government and the People of the United Republic of Tanzania, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Her Excellency Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President-elect of the Republic of Namibia, on your historic victory in the 2024 Namibian general election. I am looking forward to working with you in strengthening the all-weather fraternal bonds and historical ties between Tanzania and Namibia.”

The World Bank’s economic outlook for Namibia indicates that its recent economic performance was stronger than expected. The economy grew by 4.2% in 2023, partly due to the mining sector, which included investments in oil exploration. 

Furthermore, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2024 ranks Namibia eighth with a score of 0.805, with 1 equaling parity. It is the only sub-Saharan African country in the Top 10.