Namibia’s Supreme Court rejected an attempt on Friday from the primary opposition party to annul the controversial 2024 presidential election after voting was prolonged twice.
The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) has declared that it does not accept the results of the elections held in November, which were won by the SWAPO party that has been in power since the country gained independence in 1990.
The IPC contends that President Nangolo Mbumba exceeded his constitutional power by extending the voting period to only two days in specific locations.
Mbumba made this decision based on the recommendation of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) after significant logistical and technical difficulties caused long lines outside polling places just before they were scheduled to close after what was supposed to be one day of voting.
The court determined that the president’s decision to extend the voting hours was lawful, as stated by Chief Justice Peter Shivute, who read a summary of the verdict.
“We are satisfied that the ECN was competent to recommend and the president had the power… as occasion required, to make it possible for voters who would otherwise be disenfranchised, to vote on the 29th and the 30th of November 2024,” he said.
SWAPO secured 57 per cent of the votes in the presidential election, positioning its candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, to be sworn in as the first female president of the stable and sparsely populated southern African nation next month.
According to the official results, the IPC’s presidential candidate, Panduleni Itula, received 25.5 per cent of the votes. The court also decided that both parties involved in the case would share the costs of the legal proceedings.
