“We congratulate Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on her election as President of Namibia, the first woman elected to lead the sister nation,” published President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, minutes after the African leader was declared the winner in the presidential elections of the African nation.
The candidate of the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) obtained 58.07% of the votes, after 100% of the votes were counted, according to the results released by the Namibian Electoral Commission this Tuesday.
The Cuban head of state also recognized the victory of his historic SWAPO party and ratified “the commitment to friendship and cooperation between both countries.”
On November 27, SWAPO presented 72 year old Nandi-Ndaitwah as a presidential candidate, who was a member of the clandestine independence movement in Namibia in the 70s and was part of the SWAPO negotiation team in the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 435 which led to the final independence of Namibia.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was elected vice president of the SWAPO Party during the organization's VI Congress held in November 2017 and has served as a minister in the ministries of Women's Affairs and Child Welfare, Information and Broadcasting, Environment and Tourism, International Relations and Cooperation.
Following the death of President Hage G. Geingob on February 4th, 2024, Dr. Nangolo Mbumba, the fourth President of the Republic, appointed Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as Vice President, a position she has held to date.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will be officially sworn in as President of the Republic of Namibia on March 21st, 2025.