SWAPO vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has been elected as Namibia’s fifth president, making history as the first woman to hold this position.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) announced the final results on Tuesday evening, revealing that Nandi-Ndaitwah received 638,560 votes or 58.1 percent of the valid ballots cast.
Her closest rival, Panduleni Itula, leader of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), garnered 284,106 votes, accounting for 25.8 percent of the tally.
ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua declared that “Netumbo Ndemupelila Nandi-Ndaitwah has been declared duly elected as President of the Republic of Namibia.”
In the accompanying National Assembly elections, SWAPO secured 51 of the 96 elected seats, followed by IPC with 20 seats.
Other parties represented in parliament include Affirmative Repositioning (AR) with six seats, the Landless People’s Movement and the Popular Democratic Movement, each with five seats.
The United Democratic Front of Namibia obtained two seats, while several other parties, including SWANU, the Republican Party and the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters, each secured one seat.
Notably, opposition leaders boycotted the announcement of the election results, except for AR leader Job Amupanda.
Many opposition parties are preparing to challenge the election results in court, citing concerns over transparency, technical issues and potential voter disenfranchisement.
JN/APA