Voting is underway in Namibia in what could be the most competitive election since South Africa gained independence from white rule 34 years ago.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah wants to be the country’s first female president.
He ran for the South West African People’s Organization (Swapo), replacing Hage Geingob, who died in February after nine years in power.
But high unemployment, poverty, inequality and allegations of corruption have eroded support for the party.
Nandi-Ndaitwah’s main challenger is Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), along with 13 other candidates.
Local media reported that long queues had already formed at schools and other polling centers as voting began on Wednesday morning.
But there have been reports of a shortage of votes in some polling stations.
Voting, which started at 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) closes at 21:00.
Swapo has been in power since leading the country to independence in 1990.
A candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to win outright, or there will be a runoff between the top two candidates.
The results are expected in the coming days.
Nandi-Ndaitwa cast her vote in the capital Windhoek when the polls opened, urging Namibians to go out and vote, saying “it will have an impact on your life for the next five years”.
He is against the traditional and male-dominated political culture in the country.
But he is a trusted leader who has served in the highest office of government for a quarter of a century.
Itula, a former dentist and lawyer, received 29% of the vote in the last election in 2019, losing to Swapo leader Geingob, who received 56%.
He said this is an important day for democratic governance in Namibia, as he will vote in the capital.
Namibia is currently led by interim President Nangolo Mbumba, who took over in February after Geingob’s death, but is not stepping in.
Analysts say the outcome may depend on young voters, who make up more than half of the electorate.
Namibians are also electing new members of parliament.
Namibia is a large and peaceful country with a small population of about three million, about half of whom are eligible to vote.
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