Andreas Thomas 

Swapo Party Secretary General Sophia Shaningwa said the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN)’s confirmation of Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as the party’s presidential candidate is a significant milestone for Namibia.

The ECN declared 15 presidential candidates as duly- nominated for the upcoming general elections on Thursday, including Nandi-Ndaitwah as the only female candidate.

Speaking during a press briefing, Shaningwa said Nandi-Ndaitwah is the first woman to run for the highest office in Namibia.

“A woman has just been declared in accordance with the law to stand for the highest public office of the land. As Swapo members, this achievement comes at the back of years of deliberate policy interventions with a view to removing all legal, cultural and institutional obstacles women have for many years been confronted with when it comes to leadership and senior public positions,” she said.

She stated that Nandi-Ndaitwah’s declaration by the ECN should end malicious and politically-motivated campaigns to delegitimise her candidacy.

She was referring to arguments by some Swapo members who felt that Nandi-Ndaitwah was irregularly chosen.

The former international relations minister and current vice president was chosen as the ruling party’s vice president at its seventh Ordinary Congress in November 2022.

She was elected along with the late party president, Hage Geingob, who was serving his second and final term as head of state before his death in February 2024.

As is customary in Swapo tradition, Nandi-Ndaitwah was to be the automatic choice as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

However, some called for an extraordinary congress to elect a new Swapo president. 

The party’s central committee chose to postpone the congress until 2025, and reaffirmed Nandi-Ndaitwah as the presidential candidate.

The High Court in Windhoek on Monday dismissed a case that sought an order to compel Swapo to hold an extraordinary congress, and subsequently dismiss Nandi-Ndaitwah’s candidacy.

“We are happy that our members remained committed to supporting the party and its presidential candidate amidst a sea of lies, fake news and a politically-motivated campaign of misinformation. Now that we have passed this critical stage, I call on our members to continue with political activities across the country with a view towards mobilising support for the party and its presidential candidate in the upcoming elections, with the objective and goal of achieving a landslide victory,” Shaningwa said.

-Nampa