Namibia may elect its first-ever female president in elections this week

Associated Press

OSHAKATI, Namibia (AP) — Namibia’s Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah could become the country’s first female president if she wins the presidential election Wednesday. At least 1.4 million people, or about half of the country’s population, have registered to vote. Fifteen political parties are standing in the elections for the president and the National Assembly. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s party, the South West Africa People’s Organization, has governed the southwest African country since its independence from South Africa’s apartheid minority government in 1990. But the party lost its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly in 2019, a dismal performance widely attributed to allegations of corruption and money laundering in the Namibian fishing industry.