(Bloomberg) -- Namibians lined up from late Tuesday to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections that are expected to be the sternest test yet for the party that has led the sparsely populated southeast African nation since independence in 1990.
Voting across the 121 constituencies began at 7 a.m. local time on Wednesday and will continue until 9 p.m. Final results are expected be announced by the end of the week.
The South West Africa People’s Organisation aims to maintain its almost 35-year stranglehold on power, but could face a potential backlash over high levels of unemployment, graft and inequality. Its flagbearer is Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, currently the deputy president, who stands to become Namibia’s first female leader if she wins.
The biggest threat to the ruling party is likely to come from the four-year-old Independent Patriots for Change. Founder Panduleni Itula, a former Swapo member who secured 29% of the vote when he ran for president as an independent in 2019, is seen as the strongest of Nandi-Ndaitwah’s 14 challengers.
Some polling stations experienced technical problems and opened late, while there were reports of machines struggling to read voter cards. Those issues have been addressed, the Electoral Commission of Namibia said.
“We have seen long queues at all polling stations,” said Mulauli De Wet Siluka, a spokesperson for the commission. “You can see that Namibians are eager to cast their vote.”
The vote takes place against the backdrop of an anticipated boom in oil and gas, with the government expecting commercial production to begin as early as 2029. More than 1.4 million people registered to cast ballots.
--With assistance from Thomas Hall.
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