Namibia’s ruling party selects first female presidential candidate

Namibia’s Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is an inch closer to becoming the country’s first female president after the SWAPO ruling party has selected her as the party’s vice president.

More than 700 delegates descended upon the capital for the party’s congress that was scheduled for three days but was extended by a rerun for the deputy secretary general position, after none of the candidates won a majority of votes in the first round. According to the SWAPO constitution, Nandi-Ndaitwah’s election as vice president has made her the frontrunner to lead the party into the country’s upcoming national elections in March 2024 when the current leader steps down at the end of his current term. But the current incumbent, Hage Geingob, refused to endorse a successor as his predecessors had done.

Ndaitwah told the media she is prepared to lead the southwest African nation: “The point I am trying to make is there is no easy time in life,” she said. “So, every time it has its own challenges and I can tell you, whatever the challenges, there are always people who are ready to face those challenges and I am one of those. This is the time I am given in order to take the position. I am asking party members to give me that opportunity and I am ready.” Uahekwa Herunga, a Namibian politician and a member of SWAPO, was later declared the winner per the SWAPO constitution, which requires a gender balance in the top four positions.