Johannesburg, December 1 (EFE).- Presidential candidate Panduleni Itula, the main opposition rival to the ruling party in Namibia’s general election, has said he will not accept the results of the vote, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was extended until then. Saturday due to delays and other issues.
Speaking shortly before the polls closed at 21:00 local time (19:00 CET) this Saturday, the leader of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) said his party would not concede “under any circumstances”. circumstances” results of a vote that was extended in an “illegitimate” manner.
“The IPC will not recognize the result of the election, whether that result gives victory to the IPC presidential candidate, whether it gives the IPC parliamentary seat gain or suggests a second round,” Itula said.
The presidential candidate based his decision on “extensive irregularities” and “significant and undeniable electoral malpractices” recorded by his representatives in several polling centers, which “are unacceptable by all international, regional, continental and local standards”.
“As the IPC, we remain firm in our determination to fight alongside other political parties who feel the same way and are able to join us in fighting to…cancel the elections,” he added.
According to the first published partial results, in only ten of the country’s 121 constituencies, the presidential candidate of the ruling South West African Union (SWAPO), Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, leads the election count.
Hundreds of people could be seen lining up at open schools in the capital Windhoek and other parts of the country this Saturday to exercise their democratic right after the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) decided to extend voting.
After receiving complaints from various political parties, the agency admitted on Thursday that several factors, such as a shortage of ballots or faulty verification machines, prevented some people from voting on Wednesday.
Opposition leaders criticized the fact that the expansion of voting was not implemented across the country, but only in some specific regions.
The African Union (AU) election observation mission highlighted in its preliminary report this Friday that the extension “was not communicated to voters and election staff in a timely manner”.
More than 1.4 million registered voters were called on Wednesday to choose their next president and 96 members of the 104 seats that make up the National Assembly (Lower House of Parliament) of the large southern African desert country.
After the death of President Haige Geingob (2015-2024) last February, fifteen candidates are running for the presidency.
If she wins, the official candidate and SWAPO’s current vice-president and historical activist, Nandi-Ndaitwah, would become the first woman to preside over Namibia.
Itula is her main challenger after storming into the 2019 presidential election – as an independent – with almost 30% of the vote, the opposition’s best result since the country’s independence.
If Nandi-Ndaitwah fails to win, Namibians would experience a historic moment as it would be the first time a ruling party has lost an election since the country’s independence from South Africa in 1990.
Known for its stable democracy and mineral wealth, Namibia continues to have one of the most unequal societies in the world, second only to South Africa on the Gini Index, despite macroeconomic policies that have enabled it to reduce poverty. EFE
