Namibia's decision to extend election voting due to technical issues draws opposition complaints

WINDHOEK, Namibia — Voting in Namibia for a new president and parliament has been extended into the weekend by the electoral agency due to shortages of ballot papers, a move challenged by the main opposition which is alleging fraud.

The southern African country’s elections management body said polling stations that should have closed on Wednesday will now close on Saturday night after some ran out of ballot papers. The opposition Independent Patriots for Change party on Friday claimed that the extension is illegal.

Namibia’s electoral issues come as Mozambique is engulfed in violent unrest after the long-ruling Frelimo party was declared the winner of an election in October, prompting claims of vote rigging and sparking ongoing violent protests against the party.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia's 72-year-old vice president and the ruling SWAPO party’s candidate for president, would become the largely desert country's first female leader if she wins.

But she faces stern opposition from a youthful population seemingly frustrated by lack of opportunities in a mineral-rich country rated by the World Bank as an upper middle income country, but also one of the globe’s most unequal

Elsie Nghikembua, chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia, said many people had failed to cast their ballots due to “logistical” challenges.

Many people were yet to vote on Friday afternoon, with long lines at polling stations visited by The Associated Press. Many remote rural polling stations were still waiting for ballot paper deliveries.

Electoral officials assured voters that ballot papers were on the way, but many were doubtful.

Nangombe Shitaleni, a registered voter waiting in a line at the Okandjengedi Community Center polling station, in northern Namibia, said he had failed to vote since Wednesday. He said he would give up if not served by Friday evening.

“I keep coming to the same place every day without being assisted. It’s like you are a mad person,” he said.

About 1.4 million people — around half the Namibian population — are registered to vote to decide the president and the makeup of parliament for a five-year term.

Namibia is a former German colony that came under South African control after World War I and its Black majority was later subjected to some apartheid policies. SWAPO was at the forefront of the battle for independence and has dominated politics since independence in 1990.

Previous elections have largely been regarded as credible, earning the country rich in minerals such as gold and uranium the title of being one of the most stable democracies in a continent where power transfer often involves disputed elections, force or even bloodshed.

SWAPO has governed Namibia and held the presidency for 34 years since independence. But there is frustration caused by high unemployment and economic hardship, especially among young people. It's a trend that has seen voters elsewhere in southern Africa this year reject parties that liberated their nations from colonial or white minority rule in favor of era-ending change to address new problems.