Namibians will vote on Wednesday in what is expected to be the most competitive election yet for the ruling SWAPO party, which has governed the southern African nation for 34 years.

Namibia’s Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah could become the country’s first female president if she wins the presidential election Wednesday.

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.