Namibia will have its first female leader after VP wins presidential election for the ruling party

Namibia elected its first female leader as Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was declared the winner Tuesday of a presidential election last week that was tarnished by technical glitches that caused a three-day extension to allow votes to be cast, and rejected as illegal by opposition parties.

The 72-year-old Nandi-Ndaitwah won with 57% of the vote, defying predictions that she might be forced into a runoff.

Her ruling SWAPO party also retained its parliamentary majority, although by a very thin margin, and extended its 34-year hold on power since the southern African country gained independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

Namibia, a sparsely populated country of around 3 million on the southwestern coast of Africa, has a reputation for being one of the continent’s more stable democracies and the problems around the election have caused consternation.

Last Wednesday’s vote was marred by shortages of ballot papers and other problems that led election officials to extend voting until