The Nigerian Government has congratulated Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on her historic election as the first female President of the Republic of Namibia.
A statement on Wednesday by Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, the acting spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja said the victory of Nandi-Ndaitwah who is the current Vice President as confirmed by the Electoral Commission of Namibia will extend the ruling of the South West Africa Political Organisation’ s (SWAPO) reign in power since independence.
“The people of Namibia have indeed voted for stability. Therefore, the Government of Nigeria looks forward to further strengthening our historic, strong, and vibrant relationship during her tenure in office for the benefit of our people,” the statement said.
Namibia’s electoral commission declared that Nandi-Ndaitwah won more than 57 per cent of the votes cast, with her closest rival, Panduleni Itula scoring 26 percent of total votes.
Following logistics challenges and a three-day extension to polling in some parts of the country, Itula is disputing the election result, alleging that the process was “deeply flawed”.
His Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party said it would challenge the results in court.
Most opposition parties boycotted the results announcement on Tuesday evening in the capital, Windhoek, the Namibian newspaper reports.
After the announcement her victory, Nandi-Ndaitwah said: “The Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability.”
The President-elect has been a trusted member of SWAPO which has been in power since 1990 when the country gained independence.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa similarly extended his congratulations to Nandi-Ndaitwah on X on Wednesday.
“Your election as fifth President of the Republic and the first woman in our region to hold this high office is a testament to democracy and its ability to transform our societies,” Ramaphosa said.
When sworn into office, the Namibian President- Elect will join Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan as the two female presidents in Africa at the moment.