NAMIBIA is to have its first female leader after Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was declared the winner of last week’s presidential election.

The voting was tarnished by technical glitches that caused a three-day extension to allow ballots to be cast, a decision branded illegal by opposition parties.

Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah won with 57 per cent of the vote, followed by the candidate of the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change with 25.5 per cent, the electoral authority announced on Tuesday.

The South West African People’s Organisation also retained its parliamentary majority, although by a very thin margin, and extended its 34-year hold on power, having ruled since Namibia gained independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

In a brief speech after the results were announced, Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah said that Namibians had voted for peace, stability and youth empowerment.

“We are going to do what we promised you during the campaigns,” she pledged, adding: “Thank you for your confidence and trust in us.”

Swapo won 51 seats in the legislative vote, only just passing the 49 it needed to keep its majority, in what was the party’s worst ever result in a parliamentary election.

Last Wednesday’s vote was marred by shortages of ballot papers and other problems that led election officials to extend voting until Saturday. 

Some opposition parties have vowed to launch a legal challenge in a bid to have the election invalidated.