Namibia set for first female president as disputed election count advances

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is starring the statesmanlike contention but could beryllium forced into a run-off ballot if she falls abbreviated of the 50 percent threshold.

Namibia appears acceptable to get its archetypal pistillate president, with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah holding a steadfast pb arsenic the number from past week’s disputed predetermination proceeds.

With 65.57 percent of votes counted, results released aboriginal connected Tuesday connected the predetermination commission’s portal showed governing enactment campaigner Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, starring the race with 54.82 percent of the vote.

Results were initially expected a fewer days aft the November 27 poll, but voting was extended by 3 days astatine respective polling stations pursuing method difficulties and ballot insubstantial shortages.

The main absorption Independent Patriots for Change, whose campaigner Panduleni Itula trails with 28 percent, has already rejected the predetermination arsenic a sham.

The votes counted truthful acold are for 79 of 121 constituencies, including each but 2 successful the capital, Windhoek. Of the astir 1.5 cardinal registered voters, 73 percent formed ballots, the electoral committee said.

Currently vice president, Nandi-Ndaitwah of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), could beryllium forced into a second-round run-off ballot if she does not assertion much than 50 percent of votes erstwhile each results are successful aboriginal this week.

Namibians ballot separately for members of the National Assembly, and with 66.4 percent of the votes tallied, SWAPO led the ballot with 56.38 percent. Independent Patriots for Change was moving astatine 19.23 percent.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah casts her ballot astatine the Emma Hoogenhout Primary School polling presumption successful Hochland Park, Windhoek [Simon Maina/AFP]

Results were initially expected a fewer days aft the November 27 poll, but voting was extended to November 29 and November 30 astatine respective polling stations aft immoderate voters were incapable to formed their ballots connected predetermination time owed to technical difficulties.

Logistical and method problems, including a shortage of ballot papers, led to agelong queues that meant immoderate voters gave up connected the archetypal time of voting aft waiting for up to 12 hours.

The absorption claimed the hold was illegal, undermining the ballot successful the Southern African country, which has a mostly creaseless past of elections and is praised arsenic 1 of the region’s much unchangeable democracies.

SWAPO has led the mineral-rich state of astir 3 cardinal radical since starring it to independency from apartheid South Africa successful 1990, but precocious younker unemployment and enduring inequalities person disenchanted younger voters.

Opposition parties person promised to situation the validity of the predetermination successful court. Opposition person Itula said determination were a “multitude of irregularities” and nary substance the result, “the IPC shall not recognise the result of that election”.

“The regularisation of instrumentality has been grossly violated and we cannot telephone these elections by immoderate means oregon measurement arsenic free, just and legitimate,” helium said connected Saturday, the past time of the vote.

Other absorption parties said they volition articulation the case. “It is astir our country, it’s astir our antiauthoritarian credentials, it’s astir the state that indispensable enactment for everybody, the mediocre and the rich. It cannot lone enactment for those who privation to stay successful powerfulness by hook oregon [by] crook,” said McHenry Venaani, the person of the absorption Popular Democratic Movement and a campaigner successful the statesmanlike election.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies