Namibia may have its first female president
Namibia's Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has his sights set on the presidency when the country goes to the polls on Wednesday, AP writes.
Opinion polls point to a lead for Nandi-Ndaitwah and her party SWAPO. The party has ruled the country since independence from South Africa and its apartheid rule in 1990, but this time it is a more even battle than ever before.
Nandi-Ndaitwah has promised to create half a million new jobs over the next five years, a goal her critics say is unrealistic. The job issue is described as central to attracting the country's many young voters - a group that 72-year-old Nandi-Ndaitwah also needs to convince that she is not too old for the presidency.
"Status quo" and woman - it speaks against Nandi-Ndaitwah
Only a few women have led African countries. If Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah becomes Namibia's new president after the election on Wednesday, she will follow in the footsteps of, among others, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, who became the first female president on the continent when she won the elections in Liberia in 2005.
- It is very difficult to determine whether the Namibians are willing to vote for a woman, says Henning Melber, who works at the Nordic Africa Institute at Uppsala University, to AFP.
Especially in the northern parts of Namibia, where the influence of traditional leaders is strong, a woman can find it difficult to reach, he believes.
Another challenge for Nandi-Ndaitwah is that, as a party veteran within the ruling SWAPO, she symbolizes a kind of status quo.
- She's been there for as long as she wants [...] and it's just not very attractive to voters, says Johannesburg-based political analyst Marisa Lourenco.
Namibia's Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has his sights set on the presidency when the country goes to the polls on Wednesday, AP writes.
Opinion polls point to a lead for Nandi-Ndaitwah and her party SWAPO. The party has ruled the country since independence from South Africa and its apartheid rule in 1990, but this time it is a more even battle than ever before.
Nandi-Ndaitwah has promised to create half a million new jobs over the next five years, a goal her critics say is unrealistic. The job issue is described as central to attracting the country's many young voters - a group that 72-year-old Nandi-Ndaitwah also needs to convince that she is not too old for the presidency.
"Status quo" and woman - it speaks against Nandi-Ndaitwah
Only a few women have led African countries. If Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah becomes Namibia's new president after the election on Wednesday, she will follow in the footsteps of, among others, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, who became the first female president on the continent when she won the elections in Liberia in 2005.
- It is very difficult to determine whether the Namibians are willing to vote for a woman, says Henning Melber, who works at the Nordic Africa Institute at Uppsala University, to AFP.
Especially in the northern parts of Namibia, where the influence of traditional leaders is strong, a woman can find it difficult to reach, he believes.
Another challenge for Nandi-Ndaitwah is that, as a party veteran within the ruling SWAPO, she symbolizes a kind of status quo.
- She's been there for as long as she wants [...] and it's just not very attractive to voters, says Johannesburg-based political analyst Marisa Lourenco.
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