Johannesburg, December 3 (EFE).- The candidate of the ruling South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO), Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, is leading the count for the November 27 presidential election, according to partial results released this Tuesday by electoral authorities. .
The vice president won 54.82% of the vote after 65.57% of votes were counted, according to results released by the Electoral Commission of Namibia at 7:51 GMT on Tuesday.
Should Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, eventually win, she would become the first female head of state in a southern African country.
In second place is Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) leader Panduleni Itula with 28.09%.
Itula, 67, had already announced last weekend that he would not accept the results of the vote, originally scheduled for November 27 but extended to this Saturday due to delays and technical problems.
“The IPC will not recognize the result of the election, whether that result gives victory to the IPC presidential candidate, whether it gives victory to the IPC parliamentary seats or proposes a runoff,” Itula said, denouncing “widespread irregularities.” .” and “flagrant and undeniable electoral malpractice”.
To win the presidency, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote; otherwise, a second round is required.
Namibians also elected members of the National Assembly (Lower House of Parliament) and SWAPO – which has led the country since independence from South Africa in 1990 – also leads the count with 56.38% of the 66.39% of votes counted.
The IPC ranks second in the parliamentary elections with 19.23%.
More than 1.4 million registered voters were called last 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 ran for the presidency.
If Nandi-Ndaitwah is not victorious, 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.
Known for its stable democracy and mineral wealth, Namibia is one of the most unequal societies in the world despite macroeconomic policies that have enabled it to reduce poverty. EFE
