The ruling Swapo Party’s presidential candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is leading in the preliminary presidential election results with 33 048 votes (48.31%) from 10 constituencies.
She is followed by Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), who has 19 857 votes, while Landless People’s Movement leader and chief change campaigner Bernadus Swartbooi has 5 914 votes.
Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani has so far garnered 4 859 votes. This was announced by Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) chairperson Elsie Nghikembua during a media briefing on the election results in Windhoek late Saturday.
Swanu leader Evilastus Kaaronda is fifth with 1 354 votes, followed by United Democratic Front of Namibia (UDF) candidate Gaobaeb Hendrik with 1 053 votes.
Affirmative Repositioning leader Job Amupanda is seventh with 942 votes.
Two other figures in the top 10 of the presidential race include Henry Ferdinand Mudge of the Republican Party with 694 votes, and Thomas Festus of the Body of Christ, who received 231 votes.
The ECN is yet to announce the results of the remaining 111 constituencies.
Nghikembua stated that vote-counting commenced after polling stations closed at 21h00.
“The votes will be counted separately, but results will be consolidated on the final day of the Presidential and National Assembly elections to be declared by the Commission,” she said.
National Assembly
On the same day, the ECN announced results for 15 constituencies for the National Assembly elections. Leading the pack is Swapo with 54 705 (55.72%), followed by the IPC with 17 873 (18.20%), while the PDM has 5 541 (5.64%).
The AR came in with 5 086, followed by the LPM garnering 4 325 votes, and the UDF 1 895.
Meanwhile, Swanu has 1 826 parliamentary votes, the RP has 1 121, and the National Unity Democratic Organisation has 1 006.
In 10 constituencies so far, 69 576 votes were counted for the presidential ballot, while 863 were rejected. Meanwhile, for the parliamentary ballot, 99 686 votes were counted, and 1 504 were rejected.
Not accepted
Despite the ECN forging ahead with the release of election results, various opposition parties have declared they will not accept the outcomes and plan to challenge the Commission, with many describing the elections as deeply-flawed.
Over the past few days, these parties have highlighted irregularities during the electoral process, accusing the ECN of incompetence and a lack of preparedness. Central to their concerns were issues such as shortages of ballot papers, overheating identification tablets, and many voters being turned away without casting their ballots. In response, the ECN extended the voting period to Saturday at designated polling stations. However, opposition parties continue to demand a re-run of the elections.
During a press conference on Saturday, Itula said the IPC would not accept the election results. He stated unequivocally that regardless of whether the results indicate a win, a run-off or a loss for the IPC, the party intends to challenge the election outcome through appropriate channels. He claimed the election process was marred by “glaring, undeniable
and unacceptable” irregularities.
“This is not just about the IPC or myself. It’s about Namibia and its future. We must ensure that elections are fair, free and transparent,” Itula stated. He said the IPC will collaborate with other political parties to contest the results, and demand a fair process.
The firebrand politician then urged all Namibians to document any irregularities they witnessed, and to share videos, reports and evidence with political parties. Itula continued that these efforts are crucial for safeguarding the integrity of Namibia’s democracy, and ensuring that the people retain the power to freely choose their leaders.
Observers
On Friday, election observers from various African institutions released their preliminary findings on the elections.
They noted that voting took place in a peaceful and conducive environment at most polling stations, with no significant incidents of violence or intimidation reported.
The SADC Electoral Observation Mission, led by Anne Semamba Makinda, said 94% of polling stations observed were peaceful and conducive to voting.
However, 6% experienced challenges such as poor crowd control and long queues, which she attributed to slow voter processing.
Stakeholders engagement
Makinda urged the ECN to improve stakeholders’ engagements, establish clear communication guidelines, and reform its electoral system to address logistical issues such as ballot shortages. She recommended a robust ballot management plan which includes accurate voter data, contingency measures and periodic audits, emphasising the importance of transparency and stakeholders’ consultations.
“During the pre-election period, the mission noted that stakeholders expressed confidence in how the elections were organised and conducted. However, many stakeholders raised concerns about inefficiencies within the ECN, which they believed affected the implementation of certain processes such as the procurement method for printing ballot papers,” Makinda added.
The mission commended the ECN for its extensive civic and voters’ education initiatives, highlighting efforts such as the voters’ booklet, the QR codes on accreditation cards, and provisions for visually-impaired voters to cast their ballots in secret.
However, the election observers faced resistance from protesters, particularly members of the LPM and the PDM, who marched outside the hotel where the observations were being released.
Disappointed
Led by Member of Parliament Utaara Mootu, the protesters demanded that the observers leave the country, accusing them of bias in “declaring the elections free and fair.”
This accusation was countered by the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Priscilla Chigumba, who clarified that the observers had not made any declarations, but were merely reporting initial observations. “Election observation is a process, so what we are saying is that the process is incomplete. Preliminary statements are usually issued after observing polling day, and before the announcement of results. However, since the process is ongoing, we will only issue our final statements at a later stage,” Chigumba emphasised.
Lessons
Over the weekend, President Nangolo Mbumba acknowledged the shortcomings in the electoral process, citing the shortage of ballot papers and long queues as issues that should not have occurred.
“At one point, we introduced voting machines. But being Africans, we fear machines, and suspect them. So, we dropped that idea, and decided to use ballot papers. Now, you have seen what we are going through,” he remarked while addressing a delegation of election observers led by Specioza Wandira-Kazibwe, the head of mission for the African Union Elections Observer Mission. The president continued: “Initially, we tried to be super-perfect, ensuring each party and candidate received their votes, which is good and proper. But then we overlooked factors like time, patience and thirst. Hopefully, we will improve next time.”
Nonetheless, Mbumba said the ECN should not be entirely blamed as the challenges were beyond the institution’s control.
“We truly commend and thank them [ECN] for what they have done,” he noted.