Geingob: Namibia veteran extending his stint in power

WINDHOEK: Namibia’s President Hage Geingob, who was re-elected on Saturday, is still riding on the legacy of his party’s role in the liberation struggle almost three decades after the country’s independence from South Africa. Before a single vote was cast in Wednesday’s general election, the 78-year-old could be almost certain of securing a second five-year term. A member of the SWAPO party, which has governed Namibia since independence in 1990, Geingob’s first term was overshadowed by a recession and graft allegations.

He won 87 percent of votes in Namibia’s last elections in 2014, more than the 76 percent his predecessor Hifikepunye Pohamba garnered in 2009. Geingob has had to strike a precarious balance between reminding the country of his party’s heroics and appealing to Namibia’s “born frees” which represent around a third of the voting population. The man who once lived in exile as a SWAPO representative in Botswana and the United States during South African rule, pledged in his election campaign this time to eradicate poverty by 2022.