Namibians are set to vote for a new president and parliament on November 27, following the death of President Hage Geingob, who was temporarily replaced by his deputy, Nangolo Mbumba.
The election could mark a historic shift in Namibia’s political landscape if the ruling SWAPO party, in power since independence in 1990, loses control of the presidency or parliament for the first time.
The president is directly elected by voters and must secure more than 50 per cent of the vote to win.
Support for SWAPO has declined significantly, from 87 percent in the 2014 presidential election to 56 percent in 2019.
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/main-candidates-namibias-presidential-election-2024-11-20/">Reuters</a> has profiled the main candidates running for president below:
<h2>Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah</h2>
Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, is not only the vice president of SWAPO but also the party’s first female presidential candidate.
She joined SWAPO in the 1960s during the party’s fight for Namibia’s independence from apartheid South Africa.
After going into exile with many other party leaders, she served as SWAPO’s representative in central and eastern Africa.
Following her studies in diplomacy in England, Nandi-Ndaitwah returned to Namibia and has held several senior roles in both SWAPO and the government.
These include serving as a minister in the portfolios of international relations, environment, and women’s affairs and child welfare.
<h2>Panduleni Itula</h2>
Panduleni Itula, a 67-year-old politician, secured 29% of the presidential vote as an independent candidate in 2019, marking the best performance by any challenger against SWAPO.
Since then, he has founded a new political party, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), which advocates for grassroots participatory democracy and anti-corruption. The IPC also plans to contest parliamentary seats.
Itula was a SWAPO youth leader during the fight for independence and was imprisoned by the apartheid regime.
After his release, he moved to England, where he studied and worked as a dentist for over three decades before returning to Namibia in 2013.
<h2>McHenry Venaani</h2>
McHenry Venaani is the leader of Namibia’s largest opposition party in parliament, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), which holds 16 out of 96 elected seats.
Venaani, 47, studied law and became the country’s youngest member of parliament in 2003.
Despite the PDM strengthening its parliamentary presence in the 2019 election, Venaani came a distant third in the presidential race with only 5% of votes.
<h2>Bernadus Swartbooi</h2>
Bernadus Swartbooi, 47, is the leader of the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), a progressive party advocating for land redistribution and restorative justice.
Swartbooi founded the LPM in 2017 after losing his job as deputy minister of land reform and leaving SWAPO.
LPM has four seats in parliament. Swartbooi won 3% of votes in the 2019 presidential election.
<h2>Job Amupanda</h2>
Job Amupanda, 37, is a former SWAPO youth leader who fell out with the party and founded a leftist political movement called Affirmative Repositioning in 2014. 
Like the LPM, the party focuses on land reform and redistribution of foreign-owned land.
Amupanda served as mayor of the capital, Windhoek, in 2021. He is also an associate professor of political science at the University of Namibia.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

Namibians will vote for a new president soon. The ruling SWAPO party might lose power for the first time since 1990. The main candidates running for president are Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Panduleni Itula, McHenry Venaani, Bernadus Swartbooi, and Job Amupanda. Nandi-Ndaitwah is SWAPO's first female presidential candidate. Itula founded the Independent Patriots for Change party. Venaani leads the Popular Democratic Movement. Swartbooi leads the Landless People's Movement. Amupanda founded Affirmative Repositioning. Each candidate has different ideas for the future of Namibia.

Here Are The Main Candidates In Namibia's Presidential Election

Namibia’s Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah could become the country’s first female president if she wins the presidential election on Wednesday, November 27.
At least 1.4 million people, or about half of the population, have registered to vote in the elections, with 15 political parties running for president and seats in the National Assembly.
Results from special early polls held for Namibia’s foreign missions, seamen and security services announced by the Electoral Commission of Namibia this month indicate that Nandi-Ndaitwah and her party, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), are in the lead.
SWAPO has governed Namibia since its independence from South Africa’s apartheid minority government in 1990.
In 2019, SWAPO lost its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly for the first time since 1994, largely due to allegations of corruption and money laundering in the Namibian fishing industry.
Political analyst Henning Melber believes SWAPO and Nandi-Ndaitwah must heed the 2019 election results as a warning.
Nandi-Ndaitwah (71) has promised to create more jobs and tackle the 20% unemployment rate for young people and graduates, pledging to spend approximately 85 billion Namibian dollars ($4.7 billion) over the next five years to create more than 500,000 jobs.
Issues affecting women, including reproductive rights, equal pay, and healthcare, are likely to be significant for voters.
If elected, Nandi-Ndaitwah would follow in the footsteps of Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Malawi’s Joyce Banda, and Catherine Samba-Panza of the Central African Republic as a female president in Africa.
SWAPO will face competition from the Independent Patriots for Change, led by former dentist Panduleni Itula, and university professor Job Amupanda’s Affirmative Repositioning party.
Political parties contesting the elections wrapped up their campaigns with final rallies this weekend.
Elections in southern Africa this year have delivered ground-breaking changes to the region’s political landscape.
In South Africa, the ANC lost its 30-year parliamentary majority, while Botswana’s Democratic Party was unseated after 58 years in power.
Disputed election results in Mozambique, which saw the ruling FRELIMO party declared the winner, have led to ongoing protests that have seen at least 30 people killed.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Namibia's Vice President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, could become the first female president if she wins the election. The election is on November 27, and 1.4 million people have registered to vote. Nandi-Ndaitwah's party, SWAPO, is in the lead. She promises to create jobs and tackle unemployment, especially for young people. Women's issues are important for voters too. If she wins, she will follow other female presidents in Africa. Other parties are also competing in the election. This year, there have been big political changes in southern Africa.

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