Fatshimetrie: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah could become Namibia’s first female president
Namibia is on the verge of a historic moment, with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah potentially becoming the country’s first female president. With presidential elections set to take place on Wednesday, at least 1.4 million people, or about half the population, have registered to vote. Fifteen political parties are vying for the presidency and seats in the National Assembly.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia’s vice president, has expressed her determination to transform the country politically and economically. Speaking at a rally in support of her party, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), she said: “I am proud of my liberation mindset because after liberating the people of Namibia politically, I am ready to liberate them economically.”
For his part, McHenry Venaani, leader of the People’s Democratic Movement, called on voters to go to the polls and vote for the future they deserve. He urged Namibians to “stand up, stand in the long lines and cast their vote for the future we all deserve.”
Preliminary results from early special polls for Namibia’s foreign missions, seafarers and security services, announced this month by the Electoral Commission of Namibia, show that Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and her party, SWAPO, are in the lead.
SWAPO has ruled the South-West African country since independence from apartheid South Africa’s minority government in 1990. However, in 2019, the party lost its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly for the first time since 1994. The poor electoral performance was largely attributed to allegations of corruption and money laundering in Namibia’s fishing industry.
Two cabinet ministers have been arrested and businessmen linked to those ministers have been convicted and jailed.
If she becomes president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will follow in the footsteps of Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who made history by becoming Africa’s first elected female president in 2005, as well as Malawi’s Joyce Banda and the Central African Republic’s Samba Pranza.
This year’s elections in Southern Africa have brought revolutionary changes to the region’s political landscape, with the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa losing its 30-year parliamentary majority and the Botswana Democratic Party being defeated after 58 years in power. In Mauritius, considered one of Africa’s most stable democracies, the opposition won recent elections in a landslide..
The possible election of Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as President of Namibia would not only mark a historic turning point for the country, but also a significant step forward towards gender equality and women’s representation in the highest echelons of power in Africa. The results of these elections are eagerly awaited as Namibia prepares to write a new chapter in its political history.