By Tsitsi Wayire
Voting is already underway in Namibia, with long queues of citizens eager to cast their ballots for change. The frontrunner among 14 opposition candidates is Panduleni Itula, a former dentist who garnered 29% of the vote in 2019 after splitting from SWAPO. He now leads the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC).
If Itula wins today’s election, it would mark the first transition of power to a new party in Namibia since gaining independence from apartheid-era South Africa in 1990. On the other hand, if SWAPO candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah emerges victorious, she will become Namibia’s first female president.
Under SWAPO’s rule, citizens have faced high unemployment, persistent inequality, and recurring allegations of corruption.
