Geingob claims victory in Namibia election

Namibia's incumbent President Hage Geingob won the country's election with 56.3% of the vote, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) announced on Saturday.

In second place with 29.4% was fellow SWAPO party member Panduleni Itula, a dentist-turned-politician who ran as an independent.

The leader of the official opposition party, McHenry Venaani, came third with 5.3%.

Read more: Elections in Namibia expose rift in the ruling SWAPO party

"I wish to thank Namibians for re-electing me as their president," Geingob posted on Twitter, promising to "bring tangible improvements in the lives of our citizens."

The results showed a sharp decrease in support for Geingob from 87% in the previous election in 2014, and his election rivals claimed irregularities in the vote.

Itula and the leader of the Landless People's Movement (LPM), Bernadus Swartbooi, claimed the election was fraudulent. 

Itula wrote a letter to the electoral commission, Geingob and others, urging for dialogue to avoid a "potential national crisis" with devastating effects.

 Ahead of the announcement of the final results, Itula, who is popular with young voters, said there were "unprecedented multitudes of national irregularities" that needed to be addressed.

Meanwhile, Swartbooi accused the electoral commission and SWAPO of rigging the outcome of the national polls, The Namibian, a local newspaper, reported.

"Votes were being increased in favor of SWAPO and Geingob and reduced for other candidates," Swartbooi was quoted as saying.

SWAPO has ruled Namibia since independence from South Africa in 1990. 

aw/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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