Amid a wave of historic election upsets in Southern Africa, Namibians will go to the polls this week to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections set to be the most competitive and tightly contested yet.The vote on Wednesday comes after independence-era liberation parties that long held onto power were kicked out in Botswana and crippled in South Africa earlier this year. In Mozambique, the governing Frelimo party’s recent win has led to ongoing deadly protests amid allegations of electoral manipulation.
A newcomer party is set to further loosen the grip of the governing SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organisation) Party of Namibia. The party has governed the country since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.
Increasing dissatisfaction among the youth could mean that the party risks losing the presidency and parliamentary majority for the first time. Its vote share has declined rapidly over the last two elections.
However, analysts say that although SWAPO faces the same issues as its counterparts in neighbouring countries, the Namibian opposition lacks coordination.
“Opposition parties are not well organised here like in South Africa or Botswana. That might see SWAPO get off the hook and get on track to win parliament,” Graham Hopwood, the executive director of the Windhoek-based Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), told Al Jazeera.
Namibia is vast but with just 3 million people, making it one of the most-sparsely populated countries in Africa. Its harsh, arid environment is largely unsuitable for living. The country is home to the …
