Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah who became Namibia’s first woman president this week after she was declared the winner of last week’s disputed election, is the conservative daughter of an Anglican pastor and an advocate of strict abortion laws.
“Women’s rights” has become a hot topic in Namibia in recent years with pro-choicers calling for the legalisation of abortion which is currently only allowed when the unborn child threatens the life or health of the mother, is seriously disabled, or was conceived through rape or incest. Earlier this year public hearings were held in Namibia to gauge people’s stance on the issue, following the introduction of a motion in parliament to expand the nation’s abortion laws.
After her victory announcement the 72-year old Swapo stalwart and current vice president, Nandi-Ndaitwah, told reporters: “I’m the first to admit that my election to the highest office in the land is definitely one that is breaking the glass ceiling for a Namibian woman.”
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She secured just past 57% of the vote, well ahead of the candidate for the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) on 25.5%, the election authority announced on Tuesday. But the IPC has said it did not recognise the vote, pointing to a “multitude of irregularities”.
In her news briefing Nandi-Ndaitwah praised Liberia’s former head of state Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who in 2006 became the first woman president on the African continent, for being “the one who really led the way”.
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“And for me, it’s just to reaffirm that equal responsibility of women and men in society is a reality,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
She said that her victory at the polls gave her and her Swapo party the “constitutional and moral legitimacy to govern”.
The November 27 election, which was extended until November 30, was marked by logistical and technical issues, including a shortage of ballot papers that led to long queues, reports News 24.
Some voters gave up on the first day of voting after waiting for up to 12 hours.
The opposition outfit IPC said these were a deliberate attempt to frustrate voters and that it would not accept the results.
Nandi-Ndaitwah on Thursday promised drastic change.
“It’s not going to be business as usual. We must have a radical shift in addressing the plight of our people, especially the downtrodden and the vulnerable communities,” said the president-elect, who is due to take oath on March 21 2025.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, who has been in government in 2000, refused to blame the electoral commission when asked about its management of the vote, saying the authority had brought the process to a conclusion.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia admitted to failures in the organisation of the vote, including a shortage of ballot papers and the overheating of electronic tablets used to register voters.
Of the nearly 1.5 million registered voters in the sparsely populated country, nearly 77% had cast ballots in the presidential vote, it said Tuesday.
Yet while the turnout exceeded that of the previous presidential vote, it was also particularly unequal.
In the northern regions of Ohangwena and Omusati, historic Swapo strongholds where NNN performed best with nearly 80 and 83% of the ballot, voter turnout hit 91 and 92%, much higher than the rest of the country.
Meanwhile, in the densely-populated Khomas region, which encompasses the capital Windhoek and where many electoral failings were recorded, only 67% of registered voters cast their ballots.
The Namibian elections were extensively covered in prayer this year as various prayer networks embarked on strategic initiatives seeking God’s guidance for the presidential and national elections.
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Good to know a pro-life candidate, that again a woman, is elected the president of Namibia!