The governing South West African People’s Organisation (Swapo) remained in power in last week’s Namibian general election, but saw its majority sharply reduced.
The party won nearly 66% of the vote, giving it 63 seats in the 96-member National Assembly. However, this was a significant loss of support against its performance in the last election in 2014, when it won just over 80% of the vote.
The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), previously known as the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, grew its support from 4.8% in 2014 to 16.6% in last week’s poll, and more than tripled its share of parliamentary seats, from four to 16. No other party won more than five percent of the vote, although nine other parties won enough support to secure representation in the legislature.
The presidential election saw a similar pattern. The incumbent, Hage Geingob, managed 56.8% of the vote. However, compared to 2014, when he won 86.7%, this is a significant decline in support. His biggest rival was an independent candidate, Panduleni Itula, who won nearly 30% of the vote. McHenry Venaani, the leader of the PDM was third with 5.6%.
Namibia is currently facing serious economic challenges and is in its third year of recession. The economy is expected to shrink by 1.7% in 2019. It is also facing a drought and the effects of a decline in commodities prices.