Between November 27 and November 30, Namibians elected the country’s National Assembly and one of 15 presidential candidates. Among the latter was Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was ultimately declared president on December 3, making history as the first woman to hold Namibia’s highest governmental office. Simultaneously, Nandi-Ndaitwah’s party, SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organisation), which has ruled Namibia since its independence from South Africa in 1990, also won a narrow majority of 53.4% of the seats in parliamentary elections.
These electoral successes for SWAPO notwithstanding, accusations of electoral fraud and the resulting demands for electoral transparency have caused political skepticism. Namibia’s opposition parties, namely the IPC (Independent Patriots for Change), the LPM (Landless People’s Movement) and the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF), have officially boycotted the election results. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s closest rival and member of the IPC, Panduleni Itulu, who received 26% of the presidential votes stated that one “cannot call these elections by any means or measures (…) free, fair and legitimate.”
Specifically, Itulu claims that technical and logistical problems such as the lack of sufficient ballot papers, as well as the three-day voting extension given by Namibia’s Electoral Commission (ECN), resulted in electoral malpractice that would force the IPC to “pursue justice through the courts” in an attempt to hold SWAPO accountable. Notably, the ECN acknowledged that several difficulties such as the insufficient number of ballot papers or the long waiting hours to cast the ballot did complicate the voting process. However, the institution firmly rejected any allegations of electoral fraud with the chair of the ECN, Elsie Nghikembua urging “all Namibians to embrace the results with the spirit of unity, diversity, understanding and reconciliation.” Therefore, contrary to Namibia’s opposition parties, the ECN does not characterize the 3-day voting extension as unconstitutional and rejects the opposition’s call for new elections.

Despite the increasing backlash against SWAPO, which the party’s decline in votes during the 2024 election compared to 2019 reflects, the political party has a history of being at the forefront of standing up for justice and equality. Founded in 1960, SWAPO was a liberation movement that aimed at combating South Africa’s minority rule at a time when Namibia was still known as ‘South West Africa’ and under South Africa’s occupation after Germany colonized the country until World War I. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s personal involvement in the SWAPO dates long back, as the 72-year-old joined the movement at 14 and eventually became the head of SWAPO’s Youth League in the 1970s. After being temporarily detained by police due to her activism, Nandi-Ndaitwah fled into exile.
However, her activism did not stop with her exile. Nandi-Ndaitwah used her time outside of Namibia to strengthen SWAPO’s ties with other resistance movements in Zambia and Tanzania while also obtaining a degree in International Relations, advancing her political knowledge and educational prestige. After Namibia successfully achieved independence, the political activist returned to Namibia and joined the SWAPO-led government. Since then, Nandi-Ndaitwah has held various ministerial positions and was also appointed Vice President in February after Hage Geingob died while in office. Already then, Nandi-Ndaitwah actively advocated for lowering the high unemployment rate, which is currently at around 40%, boosting Namibia’s economy and combating persisting corruption. Consequently, these goals are expected to remain central to her agenda during her upcoming presidency.

Nandi-Ndaitwah’s role in the SWAPO has served as an inspiring source for many and her election as president has resulted in the excitement of various actors, one of them being South Africa’s President Ramaphosa, who congratulated Nandi-Ndaitwah by saying that her election as the “first woman in our region to hold this high office is a testament to democracy and its ability to transform our societies.” The accusations of electoral fraud, however, should not be ignored. Although it is disappointing that the public questions the integrity of the election of Namibia’s first female president, public demands for transparency need to be taken seriously. The ECN and SWAPO must acknowledge that the voting process was not without flaws. Luckily, the ECN already addressed several technical and logistical problems that were present during the election, which was an important signal to the population. SWAPO needs to follow, seriously addressing the outcry of numerous opposition parties that this year’s election lacked fairness and legitimacy. Ultimately, an independent investigation of the electoral process should be implemented, for which the African Union (AU), as a neutral observer, could be used. By increasing transparency mechanisms and highlighting their willingness to meet the public’s demand for electoral accountability, SWAPO, as well as the ECN, can soften the tense political atmosphere that is currently present in Namibia. At the same time, Namibia’s opposition parties need to prevent an escalation, too, by articulating their political demands while also showing the willingness to recognize the electoral results if an independent investigation shows that the accusations of electoral irregularities turn out to be invalid.

Post-election tensions, along with the criticism of a former liberation movement party, is nothing new in the region. South Africa’s ANC (African National Congress) recently lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence while Botswana’s Democratic party, which ruled for over 6 decades lost its majority in parliament, too, highlighting citizen’s dissatisfaction with such parties. The head of ‘Africa Mundi’, David Soler Crespo calls such development the “slow death” of liberation movements’ parties, which is observable across the continent, showcasing that the region might have entered an era of grand political change. Namibia seems to be following a common regional pattern of development — growing allegations of electoral fraud. For example, in Mozambique, public demands for new elections amid alleged electoral irregularities in favour of the almost 50-year-long ruling Frelimo were strong after its 2024 election. In the case of Mozambique post-election tensions even led to an outbreak of violence. Despite the Namibian post-election environment being calm and without violent incidents, the southern African country seems to have entered a domain of electoral uncertainty that has its citizens questioning the legitimacy of the electoral results, a trend that is also seen in other countries throughout the region.

Thus, it is of utmost importance that Namibia opts for transparency and accountability, which includes critically reviewing its election process, investigating mistakes and ensuring that electoral irregularities were not present during the 2024 parliamentary and presidential elections. For this, the effort and willingness of all opposition parties, the ECN and the ruling SWAPO is necessary, to prevent an escalation and remain accountable to the Namibian public. In case the election results are confirmed, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is urged to further strengthen transparency mechanisms while addressing Namibia’s pressing issues such as decreasing economic growth, unemployment and corruption.
For now, Namibia’s political landscape remains volatile and uncertain and the public has yet to see if their political leaders fulfill their responsibilities to strengthen free and democratic election processes.