Namibia has elected its first female president, with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the ruling SWAPO party’s candidate and Vice President, declared the winner of last week’s presidential elections on Tuesday.
At 72, Nandi-Ndaitwah secured 57.31% of the vote, surpassing 14 other candidates and crossing the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff, ensuring her victory.
“In accordance with Section 109 of the Electoral Act…I, Elsie Nghikembua, chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia, hereby declare Her Excellency Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of the SWAPO party as the winner and president-elect of the 2024 presidential elections,” Nghikembua announced in Windhoek, the nation’s capital.
Nandi-Ndaitwah will become Namibia’s fifth president and Africa’s fourth female head of state, following Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia (2006–2018), Joyce Banda of Malawi (2012–2014), and Tanzania’s current leader, Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Previously, she served as SWAPO’s vice president under President Hage Geingob, who passed away in February 2024, and under outgoing transitional President Nangolo Mbumba.
