Voters in Namibia are casting ballots to elect a new president and parliament in polls that could result in the country's first female head of state being elected.

Around 1.4 million people — roughly half of country's population — are eligible to vote.

Incumbent Nangolo Mbumba took over as interim president following the death of Hage Geingob in February and as such is not in the running for this election.

Who is in contention?

The country's Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah from the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), which has governed without interruption since independence in 1990, is considered the frontrunner.

Namibia has been battling with high rates of youth unemployment, an issue the 72-year-old career politician has promised to tackle along with investment in green energy, agriculture and infrastructure.

Support for SWAPO has seen a drop from nearly 87% in the presidential election in 2014 to 56% in 2019.

Also in the running for the presidency is 67-year-old former dentist and lawyer Panduleni Itula from the opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC).

He garnered 29% of the presidential vote as an independent candidate in the 2019 elections and is a popular choice among younger Namibians.

Some political commentators see a second round of voting as a possibility, namely with no candidate securing more than half the total votes in the first round. That would take place within 60 days of the announcement of the first-round of results, which are due by Saturday.

Voting began 7 a.m. (05:00 GMT/UTC) local time and polling stations will shut their doors at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT), with results expected by the weekend.

kb/msh (dpa, AFP)