20091205

JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's ruling SWAPO party clinched its fifth straight landslide victory in last week's presidential and parliamentary elections and President Hifikepunye Pohamba was re-elected, the South African Press Association cited Namibia's Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) as announcing on Friday evening.

SWAPO won 74 percent of the votes against 11.4 percent for the newly-formed Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), the ECN said.

The RDP, which was formed by former cabinet minister Hidipo Hamutenya and other former SWAPO stalwarts two years ago, had been expected to make far greater inroads, but still became the official opposition of the country.

The RDP has said it suspected the ECN of tampering with the results, saying the slow counting of votes from the November 27-28elections made it suspicious, the report said.

The RDP and seven other opposition parties said they would institute legal actions against the ECN for alleged irregularities.

In the presidential poll, Pohamba won a little over 76 percent of the votes, giving him a second five-year term. Hamutenya trailed in second place with around 10 percent.

The former liberation movement SWAPO has ruled Namibia, an country of around 2 million people, since 1990. The party is popular among many voters for maintaining peace and stability among the 13 ethnic groupings in the country.