Pohamba casts his vote

2009-11-27 13:00

Windhoek - Namibia's longtime ruling party may see its grip on this desert nation weakened by a challenge from a new breakaway party hoping to attract voters dissatisfied with corruption and leadership scandals.

President Hifikepunye Pohamba was among the first to vote when polls opened Friday in the two-day election.

He is seeking a second five-year term and his party has dismissed the new opposition saying the elections will prove a decisive win for the country's former guerrilla movement, the South West African People's Organization (Swapo).

Presidential contender former foreign minister Hidipo Hamutenya is hoping to rekindle people's hopes of democracy with his Rally for Democracy and Progress, or RDP formed in 2007.

Voting takes place on Friday and Saturday in this vast desert nation, half the size of Alaska, which is home to over 2 million people. There are 1.2 million registered voters and results are expected as early as Monday or by December 4.

Few logistical problems

President Pohamba was hand-picked by the country's first democratically elected president Sam Nujoma, one of southern Africa's liberation heroes.

Loyalties to Nujoma and his party are still strong and the government has won praise for creating a peaceful and stable democracy.

But there has been growing concerns about the hold it exerts over the country.

Fourteen parties are taking part in the elections with 12 contesting the presidential poll.

At many polling stations elderly people, still excited about being able to take part in democratic elections, lined up to vote before dawn. Young people who were able to vote for the first time were also among those eager to cast their ballots.

Voting got off to a smooth start on Friday. Although, Namibian radio reported that there were a few logistical problems with wrong ballot papers being delivered to polling stations.

Curtail rigging

The electoral commission of Namibia also had to revise its registered voters figure. Opposition parties contested the 1.36 million registered voters, pointing out that 50 percent of the population were under 16 years of age, according to census figures.

For the first time votes will be counted at the polling stations and results posted outside to curtail an election rigging, which four political parties allege happened in 2004.

The electoral commission also had to back down from having a Swapo-owned company print the ballots. Instead they were printed in neighbouring South Africa.

There are 987 polling stations and 580 mobile booths to cater for this sparsely populated country spread over harsh terrain. Counting ballots can take some time and in the last elections took almost a week's time.

Some believe that a landslide victory for Swapo, which won the last elections with 75% of votes cast, may be less convincing this time round.

"While the RDP won't be able to challenge Swapo's rule, it will be able to take a few votes, minimising the percentage of parliamentary seats the former liberation movement has," said Emile van Zyl, an executive director for financial services company Simonis Storm Securities.

- AP