Namibia has elected its first female leader, with Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah declared the winner Tuesday of last week's presidential election as the long-ruling party remains in power. The 72-year-old Nandi-Ndaitwah won with 57% of the vote,

Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah from the SWAPO party that has led the mineral-rich nation since independence 34 years ago has won more than 58 percent in last week's vote, according to the electoral commission tally of nearly 92 percent of ballots.

Namibia's Vice President and SWAPO presidential candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah gestures after casting her vote in the elections in Windhoek, Namibia, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Noah Tjijenda/File Photo WINDHOEK (Reuters) - Namibia's ruling SWAPO party led both the presidential and parliamentary races on Tuesday,

Namibia’s ruling party presidential candidate leads in early results of an election characterized by technical problems which caused voting to be extended for three days.

Namibia was headed for its first woman president with two-thirds of the votes from last week's election counted by early Tuesday, giving the governing party candidate a strong lead in a vote the main opposition has already rejected as a sham.

The candidate from Namibia's ruling party SWAPO was on course to win the presidency following last week's election, electoral commission results from close to 92% of constituencies showed on Tuesday.

Partial results from Namibia’s elections show the sparsely populated southwest African nation is on course to appoint its first female leader since it gained independence almost 35 years ago.