By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The main opposition party in Namibia says it will not accept the outcome of the general election this week, an exercise that witnessed logistical problems and extension of voting in some areas.
In a statement on Saturday, the presidential candidate of the opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) Panduleni Itula alleged there had been “glaring and undeniable” electoral malpractices.
The party said it will “pursue justice through the courts”, encouraging those who felt that they had been unable to vote because of mismanagement by the electoral commission to go to the police to make a statement.
He ran to defeat the candidate of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), a party that has been in power since independence in 1990.
SWAPO flagbearer, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, is seeking to become the Southern African country’s first female President.
Voting started on Wednesday, but in parts of the country, it was extended up until Saturday, following a lack of ballot papers in some places as well as malfunctioning electoral equipment.
“We shall not, under any circumstances, recognise the outcome of the 2024 election… that is still, in our opinion, illegitimately continuing,” Itula told a press conference on Saturday, while calling for calm among supporters.
The geographically vast nation has a total population of about three million people, with half of the size as registered voters.
Votes are being counted and results in the presidential election from 10 of the 121 constituencies have been announced.
So far, the governing party’s Nandi-Ndaitwah has 48% of the vote to Itula’s 30%.
A candidate needs more than half the ballots cast in order to win in the first round, otherwise there will be a second-round run-off.
SWAPO, which led the liberation struggle against apartheid South Africa, has dominated politics in the country for 34 years.
Its popularity has however dwindled and in the last election in 2019 its vote share in the presidential poll fell below 60% for the first time.
It is facing challenges similar to other liberation movements in the region, which saw South Africa’s African National Congress lose its outright parliamentary majority in May and the Botswana Democratic Party kicked out of power after nearly six decades following last month’s election.
