Skip to main content

First woman president in Namibia

Namibia has its first woman president. Namibians say it won’t mean much for women

Namibia’s presidential and National Assembly elections this year have been historic on many fronts. They were the country’s most controversial elections, with accusations of foreign interference and election rigging at the forefront; while the country’s first female president was elected.
Published from Blogger Prime Android App
The South West Africa People’s Organisation’s (Swapo’s) Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was announced as the president-elect on Tuesday night, with 57.69% of the vote.

The announcement was made at the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN’s) headquarters in Windhoek, but many parties were absent — contributing to a sombre mood.

Multiple parties, including the incoming official opposition party, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) boycotted the announcement, as they do not recognise the election’s results.

In a statement issued moments before the announcement, the IPC reaffirmed its decision to challenge the election results in the courts.

“Thousands of ballots remain locked away, their fate unknown, while polling agents across the country await orders from their superiors regarding ballots under their care to be counted and their results announced.

“Polling stations, unlawfully designated as voting centres, continue processing votes under a shroud of illegitimacy,” said the IPC.

Swapo might have kept the presidency, but it fell short in the National Assembly ballot — securing only 51 seats. This continued the party’s gradual decline in the National Assembly — it won 77 seats in 2014 and 63 seats in 2019 out of 96.

While Nandi-Ndaitwah’s election is a landmark move for gender representation, Namibia is marred by high rates of sexual abuse and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The United Nations Population Fund estimates that nearly a third of all women in Namibia have experienced physical violence from an intimate partner at some point in their lives.

A shallow victory for women
The award-winning intersectional activist Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe said Nandi-Ndaitwah’s appointment was “historic, but immaterial”. According to Nthengwe, Nandi-Ndaitwah does not have a track record that indicates that women in Namibia will benefit greatly from her presidency.

“For the Swapo party it’s historic, because they have a party leader that was set to become the first female president, but for the country not so much,” said Nthengwe.

They said Namibia was “in a state of delusion, in which we believe that an elderly woman can solve our social issues”. Nthengwe noted that Namibia remained patriarchal, because “we still associate women with social issues, but men with politics. We cannot just say that because she is the first female president, our issues around SGBV and femicide will be resolved.”

First-time voter Ester Eino echoed this sentiment. Eino pointed out that Swapo had no prominent focus on women’s rights during its campaign, other than having a female candidate.

“Swapo has not really identified anything for women, so we don’t know where we stand when it comes to issues like abortion rights and rights to maternity care,” said Eino.

“Polling stations, unlawfully designated as voting centres, continue processing votes under a shroud of illegitimacy,” said the IPC.

Swapo might have kept the presidency, but it fell short in the National Assembly ballot — securing only 51 seats. This continued the party’s gradual decline in the National Assembly — it won 77 seats in 2014 and 63 seats in 2019 out of 96.

While Nandi-Ndaitwah’s election is a landmark move for gender representation, Namibia is marred by high rates of sexual abuse and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The United Nations Population Fund estimates that nearly a third of all women in Namibia have experienced physical violence from an intimate partner at some point in their lives.

A shallow victory for women
The award-winning intersectional activist Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe said Nandi-Ndaitwah’s appointment was “historic, but immaterial”. According to Nthengwe, Nandi-Ndaitwah does not have a track record that indicates that women in Namibia will benefit greatly from her presidency.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MHEN says blackouts affecting health service in Malawi calls for increased budgetary support

LILONGWE (Maravi Post)–Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN), which was formed in 2000, in its bid to spearhead health activism, has urged Government to find alternative source of energy in order to fully wipe blackouts which are affecting health services in the country. MEHN Executive Director, George Jobe appealed to Government to complete Kammwamba project with speed in order to help hospitals which are undergoing difficult time especially during at theatre department. “imagine someone is undergoing operation at the theatre or is on the life support machine and power goes off, it means those people will die because not every hospital has a standby generator.” said Jobe. Jobe said that is why as a network they have been calling for adequate budgetary support to Ministry of health in line with Abujah Declaration of 15 Percent.   Jobe said currently, Malawi is on 10 Percent which is not enough. Jobe said electricity is very important in running the daily hosp...
Post a Comment
Read more

Six signs indicate that you are about to suffer stroke

Strokes can happen to just about anyone at any given moment in time. Some circumstances being a lot more severe than others. However, each individual scenario should still be treated with a serious demeanor since it could mean the difference between life and death. Just to give you the technical definition of a stroke -- it's when a a blood vessel located in your brain begins to bleed, which is referred to as hemorrhagic, or when the blood vessel becomes blocked, which is often referred to as Ischemic. Both of these incidents can cause extreme damage to the brain, as well as possible death. It can be a little bit difficult to know when exactly you are having a stroke. other times it's not subtle at all. It's important to keep in mind that strokes are claimed to the be the fifth highest reason for death in the U.S. It's also important to keep in mind that strokes can be minimized or reduced with the aid of exercise, a healthy diet, and watching your weight. 1. Sudd...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trump he had realise $17 million for hurricane damage that staff, officials, do not recall

PALM BEACH, FLA.—Donald Trump said he received a $17 million (US) insurance payment in 2005 for hurricane damage to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, but there is little evidence of such large-scale damage. Two years after a series of storms, the real estate tycoon said he didn’t know how much had been spent on repairs but acknowledged he pocketed some of the money. Trump transferred funds into his personal accounts, saying that under the terms of his policy, “you didn’t have to reinvest it.” In a deposition in an unrelated civil lawsuit, Trump said he got the cash from a “very good insurance policy” and cited ongoing work to the historic home. “Landscaping, roofing, walls, painting, leaks, artwork in the — you know, the great tapestries, tiles, Spanish tiles, the beach, the erosion,” he said of the storm damage. “It’s still not what it was.” Trump’s description of extensive damage does not match those of Mar-a-Lago members and even Trump loyalists. In an interview about th...
Post a Comment
Read more