As more than 1.4 million Namibians voted on 27 November in presidential and parliamentary elections, the question on many people's minds is whether the ruling party, South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), will succumb to the fate of former liberation movements and long-ruling parties in Southern Africa.

In May, South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), recorded its worst performance since coming to power in 1994, forcing it into a national unity government with right-wingers. Meanwhile, to Namibia's east, the Botswana Democratic Party, also of the independence era, was sent packing on 30 October after 58 years.

SWAPO, the only ruling party Namibians have known since attaining independence in 1990, faces what many have described as its most challenging test at the polls. A sluggish economy and 43 per cent unemployment among 15- to 34-year-olds—with 18- to 35-year-olds making up 42 per cent of the electorate—have pushed many Namibians away from the ruling party.