- Early results show Swapo and IPC as the frontrunners in the presidential race in Namibia.
- Some opposition parties called on the electoral commission to stop the count over allegations of unprofessional conduct.
- Swapo and IPC officials exchanged sharp remarks.
Early results suggest Namibians found themselves divided between Swapo’s Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) when they voted, mostly on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, some opposition political parties are demanding the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) stops vote counting over allegations of unprofessional conduct.
“We are going to demand the ECN to cease the counting of votes and stop the current voting process in various polling stations across the country,” Christine Aochamus, the Independent Patriot for Change (PFC) secretary-general, told journalists in Windhoek on Thursday afternoon.
“We have been in contact with the ECN trying to establish what caused the problems that are denying people their right to cast their votes, and we are not getting any feedback from the ECN,” she said.
Other parties supported the call, she said.
According to independent newspaper The Namibian, tempers flared during a meeting at the ECN offices between ruling party Swapo secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa and IPC spokesperson Imms Nashinge.
In a video shared by the publication, Nashinge accused Shaningwa of being a “Zanu-PF thug”.
Zanu-PF is Zimbabwe’s ruling party, recently accused of interfering in regional elections, a claim the party has denied on numerous occasions.
Voting on Wednesday – and into the early hours of Thursday – was characterised by long queues thanks to both what appeared to be high voter turnout and logistical trouble.
That included a shortage of ballot papers at some stations, not unlike that seen in Zimbabwe’s disputed 2023 poll.
