WINDHOEK (Reuters) - 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.

SWAPO has governed the southwest African country since its independence from South Africa's apartheid minority government in 1990

Namibia’s SWAPO party is facing its toughest election yet, as young voters and strong opposition are threatening its 34-year rule

Political veteran Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah hopes to win Namibia's election Wednesday, becoming the country's first female president as her party prepares for its toughest race since independence. Since Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won elections in Liberia in 2006,

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.