Namibia vote delays spark opposition fury

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at a polling station in Windhoek on November 29, 2024, during extended voting following the country's general election. Namibia's election authority announced on November 28, 2024 two extra days of voting at some polling stations after logistical failures prevented many people from casting ballots in the ruling party's most contested election yet. [AFP]

Namibia extended voting for a second time Thursday with the opposition crying foul after logistical failures prevented many people from casting ballots in the tightly fought election.

With the ruling party facing its strongest challenge yet, opposition parties called for a halt to vote counting and said they had lost confidence in the process.

The polls are a key test for the liberation-era South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) party that has governed the mineral-rich country since independence 34 years ago.

SWAPO is being challenged by a younger generation of voters frustrated by high unemployment and enduring inequalities.

About 1.5 million people in the sparsely populated desert nation were registered to vote in Wednesday's presidential and legislative elections.

But many were still in line when polls were scheduled to close Wednesday evening, some saying they had queued for 12 hours.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) kept some polling stations open into Thursday and allowed others to begin ballot counting.

The disarray led to angry complaints from opposition parties which suggested there may have been an attempt to limit voting amid a strong show for SWAPO's rivals.

The ECN said it had decided to keep 36 polling stations open on Friday and Saturday in response to the criticism.

It admitted to a range of problems, including a shortage of ballot papers in a higher than expected turnout and the overheating of tablets used to verify voters.

In some cases, torches used to show up invisible ink had run out of batteries and mobile voting teams had left areas with voters still in the queues, it said.

A woman reads a newspapers as other voters wait in line for the polls to open at the Transnamib Hall polling station in Windhoek on November 29, 2024, during extended voting following the country's general election. Namibia's election authority announced on November 28, 2024 two extra days of voting at some polling stations after logistical failures prevented many people from casting ballots in the ruling party's most contested election yet. [AFP]

'Not free' 

The main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) led calls for a halt in the process.

"We have a reason to believe that the ECN is deliberately suppressing voters and deliberately trying to frustrate voters from casting their vote," said IPC official Christine Aochamus.

McHenry Venaani, leader of the largest opposition party in the outgoing assembly, said the commission "have taken this country to a precipice and now they think they can help it with two more days".

The measures to extend voting "can't just be in areas that are specified. It's the whole country that did not vote," the Popular Democratic Movement chief argued.

The smaller Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters party said it wanted the vote annulled.

"This election process was not free," said representative Saddam Amushelelo. "We are not going to accept the election results."

In the presidential vote, IPC leader, former dentist and lawyer Panduleni Itula, is perhaps the strongest challenger to SWAPO's vice-president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who could become the first woman to lead the country.

Analysts have said Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, could be forced into a second round if she does not win more than half of votes.

An Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) official displays a marked ballot at a polling station during Namibia's general election in Windhoek on November 28, 2024 Logistical issues meant that thousands of Namibians were still waiting to vote in pivotal presidential and legislative elections late on November 27, 2024 as the polling stations were scheduled to close. AFP]

Long queues 

The long queues were "a signal that people really want a change", said Ndumba Kamwanyah, lecturer in the Department of Human Sciences at the University of Namibia.

"For me, it seems it's not good news for the incumbent party," he told AFP.

Some voters gave up after standing in line for hours in the sun and before voting was first extended on Wednesday night, said Maria Nambahu, who waited five hours to cast her ballot.

"It should have been better organised," the 25-year-old said. "That makes it unfair."

Edison Bernardo, a 25-year-old financial assistant, said there should be a re-run.

"People did not vote, many left the line," he told AFP. "If this is the actual election, there will definitely be riots."

While lauded for leading Namibia to independence, SWAPO is nervous about its standing after other liberation-era movements in the region have lost favour with young voters.

In the past six months, South Africa's African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority and the Botswana Democratic Party was ousted after almost six decades in power.

Namibia is a major uranium and diamond exporter but not many of its nearly three million people have benefited from that wealth in terms of improved infrastructure and job opportunities, analysts say.

Around 42 percent of Namibia's registered voters were aged under 35, the election authority says.