Namibia’s recent elections have been plagued by severe organizational issues, leading to extended voting hours and frustrations among voters. With polling stations facing ballot shortages and malfunctioning verification tablets, concerns about low voter turnout could threaten the ruling Swapo party’s position. Candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah may face a runoff against strong opposition. Amidst high unemployment and demand for change, young voters express hope for a new direction in a nation grappling with deep inequalities.
Namibia’s Historic Elections: A Chaotic Turnout
The recent elections in Namibia have been marked by unprecedented challenges, turning what should have been a straightforward process into an organizational nightmare. Voting, initially scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, was extended indefinitely, continuing until Thursday morning due to overwhelming queues of voters.
Siluka De Wet, a spokesperson for the electoral commission, reported, “In several polling stations, voting was still taking place this morning,” but could not confirm whether operations had officially ended by 8:00 AM local time. At the University of Science and Technology in Windhoek, voting did not wrap up until 5:00 AM, according to poll workers who started counting ballots despite being awake all night. The sight of blue chairs piled up in the courtyard served as evidence of the late-night turnout.
Voter Turnout and Opposition Challenges
This chaotic situation raises questions about voter participation, which could signal trouble for Swapo, the ruling party since Namibia’s independence in 1990. With Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its candidate—potentially the first female president of this southern African nation—Swapo may find itself facing an unexpected runoff.
Polling stations across Windhoek, including the city hall, faced temporary closures due to a ballot shortage, leading to frustration among voters. After a brief pause, cheers erupted when new ballots finally arrived, waking many who had dozed off while waiting. The last voter cast their ballot nearly five hours after the station was supposed to close.
Frustration was palpable among voters like Reagan Cooper, a 43-year-old farmer, who expressed his disappointment: “It’s frustrating to wait for hours and hours only to face failures like a shortage of ballots. Voters showed up, but the electoral commission betrayed us.” Many Namibians prepared for long waits, bringing folding chairs and umbrellas as they stood in the scorching sun for up to twelve hours to exercise their right to vote.
The electoral commission faced further challenges as the tablets used for identity verification through fingerprints malfunctioned at several locations. The main opposition party, the Independent Patriots Party (IPC), accused the commission of attempting to dissuade voter turnout, according to its Secretary General, Christine Aochamus.
In light of criticism from all sides, including Swapo, the electoral commission announced that voting would be extended “without a specified duration,” as stated by Rakondjerua Kavari, the regional head for Windhoek.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, a veteran of the liberation struggle and Swapo’s candidate, had urged the 1.5 million registered voters to “vote in numbers” as soon as polls opened. She faces strong competition from Panduleni Itula, a former dentist and lawyer who founded the IPC in 2020 and previously secured 29.4% of the votes without a party backing in 2019.
With high unemployment rates, stark inequalities, and a demand for generational change, support for Swapo is waning in this southern African nation, which is a major uranium supplier globally. Marvyn Pescha, a 50-year-old self-employed individual from Katutura, expressed a mix of loyalty and concern: “My father was a hero of liberation. I will not abandon Swapo; it is my family. But I want it to be challenged.” He lamented how some opportunistic leaders have tarnished the party’s legacy.
According to Henning Melber, a researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute in Sweden, a runoff in the presidential election is now a “fairly realistic option.” Young voters, like 24-year-old Sophia Varela, who proudly documented her first voting experience with ink-stained fingers, shared their hopes for change and job opportunities in a nation where over 60% of the population is under 30.
Despite three decades of Swapo leadership, which was birthed from a Marxist inspiration during the anti-apartheid struggle, Namibia remains one of the world’s most unequal countries, only surpassed by South Africa, according to the World Bank. Analyst Marisa Lourenço noted, “The abundant mining activity does not really translate into ‘job opportunities.'” The last available data from 2018 indicated that 46% of young adults aged 18-34 were unemployed.
As Swapo navigates these tumultuous elections, it may fear facing a similar fate to other liberation parties in the region, like the ANC in South Africa or the BDP in Botswana, both of which have seen significant declines in their support.