Namibia may elect its first female president this week

OSHAKATI, Namibia — 

Namibia's Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah could go the country's archetypal pistillate president if she wins the statesmanlike predetermination Wednesday.

At slightest 1.4 cardinal people, oregon astir fractional of the population, person registered to ballot successful the elections, with 15 governmental parties moving for president and seats successful the National Assembly.

Results from peculiar aboriginal polls held for Namibia 's overseas missions, seamen and information services announced by the Electoral Commission of Namibia this period bespeak Nandi-Ndaitwah and her party, the South West Africa People's Organization, oregon SWAPO, are successful the lead.

SWAPO has governed the southwest African state since its independency from South Africa's apartheid number authorities successful 1990.

But successful 2019, the enactment mislaid its two-thirds bulk successful the National Assembly for the archetypal clip since 1994. Its dismal electoral show has been wide attributed to allegations of corruption and wealth laundering successful the Namibian sportfishing industry. Two furniture ministers were arrested, and businessmen connected to the ministers were besides convicted and imprisoned.

Political expert Henning Melber, a prof astatine the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State, believes SWAPO and Nandi-Ndaitwah indispensable instrumentality the 2019 predetermination results arsenic a informing adjacent though they look favored to triumph the elections.

Melber said the enactment needs to pull enactment from younger voters who bash not consciousness a nexus to the party's past of liberation struggles — a situation besides shared by Africa's different erstwhile liberation movements, specified arsenic South Africa's African National Congress.

"It looks similar determination is nary mode backmost to regain specified dominance. The process of erosion of legitimacy arsenic a erstwhile liberation question has precocious excessively much," helium said.

He added that the "born-frees" — a word for children calved aft their country's liberation — volition not ballot based connected emotions similar the older generations did, but volition bash truthful based connected transportation and governance.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, has promised to make much jobs and tackle the 20% unemployment complaint for young radical and graduates. She has pledged to walk astir $4.7 cardinal implicit the adjacent 5 years to make much than 500,000 jobs, a extremity that her critics telephone unrealistic.

Issues affecting women, including reproductive rights, adjacent wage and healthcare, are besides apt to fertile precocious for voters.

If she becomes president, Nandi-Ndaitwah would travel successful the footsteps of Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who made past erstwhile she became the continent's archetypal elected pistillate president successful 2005, arsenic good arsenic Malawi's Joyce Banda and Samba Pranza of the Central African Republic.

Erika Thomas, a governmental subject lecturer astatine the University of Namibia, said should Nandi-Ndaitwah beryllium elected arsenic president of Namibia, she indispensable strive to beryllium independent, transparent and accountable.

"She indispensable besides effort to propulsion for policies and authorities frameworks for women information and to bring much women into the governmental structures," Thomas said.

SWAPO volition look contention from the Independent Patriots for Change, led by erstwhile dentist Panduleni Itula, and assemblage prof Job Amupanda's Affirmative Repositioning party.

Political parties contesting the elections wrapped up their campaigns with last rallies this weekend.

Elections successful confederate Africa this twelvemonth person delivered ground-breaking changes to the region's governmental landscape, with the ANC successful South Africa losing its 30-year parliamentary bulk and Botswana's Democratic Party getting unseated aft 58 years successful power.

In Mauritius, considered 1 of the astir unchangeable democracies successful Africa, the absorption won caller elections by a landslide.

Disputed predetermination results successful Mozambique, which saw the ruling Frelimo enactment declared the winner, person led to ongoing protests that person seen astatine slightest 30 radical killed.