WINDHOEK, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a challenge against last year's presidential election, paving the way for the ruling South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) party's Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to assume office next month.

The SWAPO party, which has governed Namibia since independence from the apartheid South Africa in 1990, won both the presidential and parliamentary elections in November 2024.

Opposition parties, including the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) and the Landless People's Movement, claimed the election was flawed, citing an extended voting period as a major concern.

Chief Justice Peter Shivute, sitting with four other justices of the Supreme Court, ruled that the extension was lawful and rejected the challenge.

SWAPO's lawyer Sisa Namandje said the challenge was expected to fail. "We knew that this case is about somebody who is electorally bereaved because they lost an election. It was always going to fail," Namandje told reporters outside the court.

IPC President Panduleni Itula told Xinhua that his party would not protest the court ruling. "We will abide by that judgment. We are not going to the streets to demonstrate or anything like that," Itula said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah is set to be sworn in as Namibia's first female president on March 21. Enditem

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