Page from the Past Namibia.

UN Chronicle March 1990: The sight was impressive: hundreds of ordinary people standing in line, often for hours under a scorching sun, waiting to vote in a process that would bring Namibia its long-awaited independence. And Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar described the results as equally "impressive". He cited the 97 per cent turn-out and the orderly conduct of the elections as a sign of the political maturity of the Namibian people.

On 14 November 1989, three days after the five-day polling period (7-11 November) ended, he reported that of the 701,483 who registered, 670,879 had voted. Only 1.4 per cent of ballots had been rejected as invalid.

Namibia, the youngest democracy, "has given the whole world a shining lesson in democracy: exemplary as to commitment, restraint and tolerance", said Martti Ahtisaari, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Windhoek, on 14 November.

"In this election, there have been no losers-the whole people of Namibia have been victorious, untied in their dedication to peace, reconciliation and the future", he added, declaring that the electoral process had "at each stage been free and fair", and that it had been conducted to his satisfaction as required by the settlement plan.

The remarkably peaceful elections, and subsequent ballot counting and tabulation, were overseen by 1,700 electoral supervisors and 1,203 police monitors, part of the 8,000-strong United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG), which began its work in March 1989.

The mood was buoyant and conciliatory in Windhoek's German colonial-style Tinten Palast--Ink Palace-on 21 November, as the Assembly met for the first time. Mr. Ahtisaari was there. The President of South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Sam Nujoma, opened the session as leader of the largest political party represented in the Assembly.

SWAPO secured 41 Assembly seats, winning 57.8 per cent of the votes cast. Under the broad UN independence plan for Namibia, a two-thirds majority-48 votes-is needed to adopt constitutional provisions.

The Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) took 21 seats with 28.6 per cent of the vote. The remaining 10 seats went to the United Democratic Front (4), the Action Christian National (3), and the Federal Convention of Namibia, the Namibia National Front and the National Patriotic Front (1 each).

By secret ballot, Assembly members elected SWAPO member Hage Geingob as Assembly Chairman. The Assembly then decided by...