WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) — Namibia’s vote for a new president and parliament has been extended by the electoral office until this weekend due to a shortage of ballots, a move challenged by the main opposition, which claims fraud.
The southern African country’s election management body said polling stations that were supposed to close on Wednesday will now close on Saturday evening after some ran out of ballot papers. The opposition party Independent Patriots for Change claimed on Friday that the extension is illegal.
Namibia’s election troubles come as Mozambique is engulfed in violent unrest after the long-ruling Frelimo party was declared winner of elections in October, sparking claims of election fraud and ongoing violent protests against the party.
Trusted news and daily treats, straight to your inbox
See for yourself: The Yodel is the source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia’s 72-year-old vice president and candidate for president of the ruling SWAPO party, would become the largely desert country’s first female leader if she wins.
But she faces fierce opposition from a young population seemingly frustrated by a lack of opportunity in a mineral-rich country considered by the World Bank to be an upper-middle-income country but also one of the most unequal countries in the world.
Elsie Nghikembua, chair of the Electoral Commission of Namibia, said many people had been unable to cast their votes due to “logical” issues.
Many people still had to vote Friday afternoon, with long lines at polling stations visited by The Associated Press. Many remote polling stations in rural areas were still waiting for ballots to be delivered.
Election officials assured voters that ballots were on their way, but many were questionable.
Nangombe Shitaleni, a registered voter waiting in line at the Okandjengedi Community Center polling station in northern Namibia, said he has not voted since Wednesday. He said he would give up if he didn’t get served Friday night.
“I come to the same place every day without help. It’s like you’re a crazy person,” he said.
About 1.4 million people – about half of Namibia’s population – are registered to vote to determine the president and composition of parliament for a five-year term.
Namibia is a former German colony that came under South African control after World War I, and its black majority was later subjected to apartheid policies. SWAPO was at the forefront of the struggle for independence and has dominated politics since independence in 1990.
Previous elections were largely seen as credible, giving the country, rich in minerals such as gold and uranium, the title of one of the most stable democracies on a continent where transfers of power often involve disputed elections, violence or even bloodshed.
SWAPO governs Namibia and has held the presidency for 34 years since independence. But there has been frustration caused by high unemployment and economic hardship, especially among young people. It’s a trend that has seen voters elsewhere in southern Africa this year reject parties that liberated their countries from colonial rule or the white minority, in favor of era-ending change to tackle new problems.
