A 72-year-old woman who joined Namibia's independence movement in the 1970s is a strong contender to become its first female leader as the country votes in a presidential election on Wednesday.Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is the current vice president and the ruling SWAPO party's candidate for president and leads after the results of special early voting among citizens overseas and the armed forces were announced earlier this month.

In Mozambique, though the ruling Frelimo won recent elections, civil society and opposition groups have protested for weeks claiming fraud and demanding change. "Young people have been feeling the brunt of the current economic downturn in a lot of African ...

Namibians go to the polls on Wednesday to elect a new president and parliament in what could be a tough election for the ruling SWAPO party, which is seeking to extend its 34-year rule. SWAPO has governed the southern African nation since leading it to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

Namibia's ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) -- which has been in power since independence -- fears the same fate as other liberation-era parties crushed in elections across the region when the country goes to the polls Wednesday.