Electronic Glitch Makes For Slow Start to Namibian Elections

(Bloomberg) -- Faulty machines caused delays as voting got underway Wednesday in Namibia’s general election that is set to hand President Hage Geingob a second term and extend the almost 30-year rule of the South West Africa People’s Organization even as the economy flags.

Voting came to a standstill at a polling station on the outskirts of the capital, Windhoek, after it ran out of forms. A WhatsApp message group created for journalists by the Electoral Commission of Namibia, reported malfunctioning electronic voting machines at various stations, including one in Windhoek.

Geingob said he was confident of another victory. “I campaigned like hell,” he told told reporters after casting his vote. “If I lose I will accept it. I am a democrat.”

After securing 87% of the presidential ballot in 2014 and the ruling party garnering 80% support in the parliamentary vote, neither are realistically at risk of losing their majority, even if their margins of victory may narrow.

Geingob is squaring off against seven challengers. His main rival is dentist Panduleni Itula, a member of the ruling party who took advantage of a loophole in the electoral laws to run as an independent. He secured the endorsement of three other opposition party leaders and could attract some support from Swapo’s support base.

The only other candidate who may attract a meaningful share of the vote is McHenry Venaani, the candidate of the main opposition Popular Democratic Movement -- which was previously known as the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance.

Sound Reputation

Swapo is credited with winning the southwest African nation’s independence from South Africa’s then white-minority government in 1990, and the mineral-rich nation has enjoyed a long-standing reputation as one of Africa’s best-run and most stable countries.

Geingob, who trained as a teacher and holds a master’s degree in international relations from the New School for Social Research in New York, served as prime minister and trade and industry minister before replacing Hifikepunye Pohamba as president in 2014.

A chronic drought sent Namibia’s economy into a downturn in 2016 and the International Monetary Fund sees a third consecutive annual contraction this year. The government has increased borrowing to offset a slowdown in revenue, and the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product has surged to 49% from 23% five years ago.

More than 10% of the population of 2.6 million live in abject poverty and unemployment is rampant, while ongoing drought has left more than 700,000 people in need of food aid and prompted Geingob to declare a state of emergency.

Support for the ruling party has also been dented by a scandal that saw Justice Minister Sackeus Shanghala and Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Bernhard Esau quit after reports that they’d awarded quotas to one of Iceland’s biggest fishing firms in exchange for bribes. The reports alleged that Geingob had known about the scandal since 2018, an allegation he denies. Esau and Shanghala denied wrongdoing.

Polling stations close at 9 p.m., with 1.36 million people registered to cast ballots. Fifteen parties have fielded candidates for the 96 seats in the National Assembly.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kaula Nhongo in Johannesburg at knhongo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Hilton Shone, Alastair Reed

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