Across southern Africa, political parties that have led their countries since the end of colonialism have ceded power to the opposition in recent months. Namibia bucked the trend.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah won with 57% of the vote, according to official results, defying predictions that she might be forced into a runoff.

Namibia's ruling SWAPO party was declared winner Tuesday of last week's disputed elections, ushering in the southern African country's first woman president after a disputed vote that the main opposition has already said it does not recognise.

Her victory extends the ruling SWAPO party’s 34 years in power since it led the country to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah from Namibia's ruling political party, SWAPO, has been elected as the country's first female president.

With two-thirds of the votes counted from last week's presidential election, Namibia's Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is on track to become the country’s first-ever female president

Namibia was headed for its first woman president with two-thirds of the votes from last week's election counted by early Tuesday, giving the governing party candidate a strong lead in a vote the main opposition has already rejected as a sham.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, from the governing South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo), looks set to become Namibia's first female president with more than 90% of the votes from last week's disputed election now counted.

Namibia's election commission says Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of the ruling SWAPO party won 57% of the vote, negating the need for a runoff. The largest opposition party says it will challenge the results in court.

The candidate from Namibia's ruling party SWAPO was on course to win the presidency following last week's election, electoral commission results from close to 92% of constituencies showed on Tuesday.

Early results from Namibia’s elections show the ruling party is on track to maintain its almost 35-year grip on power in the sparsely populated southwest African nation.