Editing Politics of Namibia

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{{EngvarB|date=April 2020}}
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{{more citations needed|date=September 2011}}
{{Politics of Namibia}}
'''Politics of Namibia''' takes place in a framework of a [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] republic, whereby the [[President of Namibia]] is both [[head of state]] and [[head of government]],<ref name="Draft">{{cite journal |last=Shugart |first=Matthew Søberg |date=September 2005 |title=Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns |url=http://dss.ucsd.edu/~mshugart/semi-presidentialism.pdf |journal=Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819200307/http://dss.ucsd.edu/~mshugart/semi-presidentialism.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2008 |access-date=4 September 2016 }}</ref><ref name="Dual">{{cite journal |last=Shugart |first=Matthew Søberg |date=December 2005 |title=Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns |url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.fp.8200087.pdf |journal=French Politics |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=323–351 |doi=10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087 |s2cid=73642272 |access-date=4 September 2016 |quote=Of the contemporary cases, only four provide the assembly majority an unrestricted right to vote no confidence, and of these, only two allow the president unrestricted authority to appoint the prime minister. These two, Mozambique and Namibia, as well as the Weimar Republic, thus resemble most closely the structure of authority depicted in the right panel of Figure 3, whereby the dual accountability of the cabinet to both the president and the assembly is maximized. (...) Namibia allows the president to dissolve ''[the assembly]'' at any time but places a novel negative incentive on his exercise of the right: He must stand for a new election at the same time as the new assembly elections. |doi-access=free }}</ref> and of a pluriform [[multi-party system]]. [[Executive power]] is exercised by both the president and the government. [[Legislative power]] is vested in the two chambers of [[Parliament of Namibia|Parliament]]. The [[judiciary]] is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Additional to the government political structure Namibia has a network of [[Traditional leadership of Namibia|traditional leadership]] with currently 51 recognised traditional authorities and their leaders. These authorities cover the entire Namibian territory. Traditional leaders are entrusted with the allocation of communal land and the formulation of the traditional group's customary laws. They also take over minor judicial work.

{{Democracy Index rating|Namibia|flawed democracy|2023}}

==Constitution==
The Constituent Assembly of [[Namibia]] produced a constitution which established a [[multi-party]] system and a bill of rights. It also limited the executive president to two five-year terms and provided for the private ownership of property. The three branches of government are subject to checks and balances, and a provision is made for judicial review. The constitution also states that Namibia should have a [[mixed economy]], and foreign investment should be encouraged.

The constitution is noted for being one of the first to incorporate protection of the [[environment (biophysical)|environment]] into its text. Namibia is a democratic but [[one party dominant state]] with the [[South-West Africa People's Organisation]] in power. [[Opposition (politics)|Opposition]] [[political parties|parties]] are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power.

While the ethnic-based, three-tier, South African-imposed governing authorities have been dissolved, the current government pledged for the sake of national reconciliation to retain civil servants employed during the colonial period. The government is still organising itself on both national and regional levels.

The [[Constituent Assembly]] converted itself into the National Assembly on 16 February 1990, retaining all the members elected on a straight party ticket.

==President==
[[Image:Hifikepunye Pohamba 2005.jpg|left|thumb|[[Hifikepunye Pohamba]], 2nd President of Namibia]]
The Namibian [[head of state]] is the president, elected by popular vote every five years. Namibia's founding president is [[Sam Nujoma]], who was in office for three terms from 21 March 1990 (Namibia's [[Independence Day (Namibia)|Independence Day]]) until 21 March 2005. [[Hifikepunye Pohamba]] was Namibia's second president serving from 2005 to 2015. [[Hage Geingob]] was president of Namibia from 2015 to 2024. [[Nangolo Mbumba]] was president of Namibia until 21 March 2025, when he was succeeded by [[Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah]].

==Separation of powers==
While the [[separation of powers]] is enshrined in the country's constitution, Namibia's civil society and the opposition repeatedly have criticised the overlap between executive and legislature. All [[Cabinet of Namibia|cabinet]] members also sit in the [[National Assembly of Namibia|National Assembly]] and dominate that body—not numerically but by being the superiors to ordinary members.<ref>{{cite news
 |url         = http://www.namibian.com.na/news-articles/national/full-story/archive/2013/march/article/mbumbas-presence-in-cabinet-under-spotlight/
 |title       = Mbumba's presence in Cabinet under spotlight
 |last        = Sasman
 |first       = Catherine
 |date        = 22 March 2013
 |work        = [[The Namibian]]
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20130413164211/http://www.namibian.com.na/news-articles/national/full-story/archive/2013/march/article/mbumbas-presence-in-cabinet-under-spotlight/
 |archive-date = 13 April 2013
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref>

===Executive branch===
{{main|Government of Namibia}}
The government is headed by the [[Prime Minister of Namibia|prime minister]], who, together with his or her [[Cabinet of Namibia|cabinet]], is appointed by the president. SWAPO, the primary force behind independence, is still the country's largest party. [[Hage Geingob]] was Namibia's first prime minister. He was appointed on 21 March 1990 and served until 28 August 2002. [[Theo-Ben Gurirab]] was prime minister from 28 August 2002 to 21 March 2005, and [[Nahas Angula]] occupied this position from 21 March 2005 to 4 December 2012. He was succeeded by Hage Geingob, who in turn was succeeded as prime minister by [[Saara Kuugongelwa]] when he became president of Namibia on 21 March 2015.

===Legislative branch===
{{main|Parliament of Namibia}}
[[Image:Tintenpalast, Windhoek.jpg|thumb|The [[Tintenpalast]] in [[Windhoek]], housing the [[Parliament of Namibia]]]]
[[Parliament of Namibia|Parliament]] has [[bicameralism|two chambers]], consisting of a [[National Assembly of Namibia|National Assembly]] ([[lower house]]), elected for a five-year term, and a [[National Council of Namibia|National Council]] ([[upper house]]), elected for a six-year term. The Assembly is the primary [[legislative]] body, with the Council playing more of an advisory role.

From [[Independence of Namibia|Namibian independence]] until 2014 the National Assembly consisted of 78 members, 72 members elected by [[proportional representation]] and 6 members appointed by the president. The [[National Council of Namibia|National Council]] had 26 representatives of the Regional Councils. Every Regional Council in the 13 regions of Namibia elected two representatives to serve on this body.<ref name=GRNleg>{{cite web | url = http://209.88.21.36/opencms/opencms/grnnet/GRNOverview/grnStructure/legislative.html | title = GRN Structure. The Legislature | publisher = [[Government of Namibia]] |access-date = 29 September 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110818165115/http://209.88.21.36/opencms/opencms/grnnet/GRNOverview/grnStructure/legislative.html | archive-date = 18 August 2011}}</ref> Prior to the [[2014 Namibian general election|2014 general elections]] the [[Constitution of Namibia|constitution]] was amended. Since then there are 104 seats in the National Assembly (96 elected, 8 appointed), and 42 seats in the National Council (3 from each region, with the number of regions increased to 14).<ref>{{Cite journal | title=Women and political participation in Namibia and Nigeria: a comparative analysis of women in elective positions | first1=Maryam Omolara| last1=Quadri | first2=Erika K | last2=Thomas | journal=Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences | publisher=[[University of Namibia]] | volume=7 | issue=2 | date=2018 | issn=2026-7215 | pages=6–9 | url=http://repository.unam.edu.na/bitstream/handle/11070/2426/quadri_women_2018.pdf}}</ref>

===Judicial branch===
{{main|Judicial system of Namibia}}

The highest [[judiciary|judicial]] body is the [[Supreme Court of Namibia|Supreme Court]], whose judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission.<ref>constitution of the republic of Namibia article 79</ref> The Supreme Court of Namibia is led by the [[Chief Justice of Namibia]] the highest judicial officer in Namibia.<ref>article 79</ref>
 
The second highest court is the [[High Court]] whose judges are also appointed by the president on recommendation of the Judicial service commission. The [[High court]] is led by the [[Judge-President of Namibia]] who also acts as the [[Deputy Chief Justice of Namibia]]. <ref> article 80 </ref> The [[High court]] has original jurisdiction over all matters within Namibia.<ref>article 80</ref>

The [[Lower Courts of Namibia]] are the lowest courts in Namibia and serve as courts of record. They serve as trial courts.<ref>article 78</ref>

The judicial structure in Namibia parallels that of South Africa. In 1919, [[Roman-Dutch law]] was declared the common law of the territory and remains so to the present.

==Political parties and elections==
{{Elect|List of political parties in Namibia|Elections in Namibia}}

Elections were held in 1992, to elect members of 13 newly established Regional Councils, as well as new municipal officials. Two members from each Regional Council serve simultaneously as members of the National Council, the country's second house of Parliament. Nineteen of its members are from the ruling [[SWAPO]] party, and seven are from the [[Democratic Turnhalle Alliance of Namibia|Democratic Turnhalle Alliance]] (DTA). In December 1994, elections were held for the President and the [[National Assembly of Namibia|National Assembly]].

Namibia has about 40 political groups, ranging from modern political parties to traditional groups based on tribal authority. Some represent single tribes or ethnic groups while others encompass several. Most participate in political alliances, some of which are multiracial, with frequently shifting membership.

[[SWAPO]] is the ruling party, and all but one of the new government's first cabinet posts went to SWAPO members. A [[Marxist]]-oriented movement, SWAPO has become less left-wing and now espouses the need for a mixed economy. SWAPO has been a legal political party since its formation and was cautiously active in Namibia, although before implementation of the UN Plan, it was forbidden to hold meetings of more than 20 people, and its leadership was subject to frequent detention. In December 1976, the [[UN General Assembly]] recognised SWAPO as "the sole and authentic representative of the Namibian people," a characterisation other internal parties did not accept.

In the 1999 presidential and parliamentary elections, SWAPO continued its history of political dominance, taking 55 of the 72 Assembly seats, and returning President [[Sam Nujoma]] to the office for his third term. The principal opposition parties are the [[Congress of Democrats]] (CoD) and the [[Democratic Turnhalle Alliance]] (DTA), with each possessing seven seats in the [[National Assembly of Namibia|National Assembly]].

In 2019 [[Hage Geingob]] won the [[2019 Namibian general election|presidential election]] and received a second term as president. His percentage of votes gained, however, dropped significantly from 87% in 2014 to 56% in 2019. While rural areas predominantly supported Geingob, many urban centres voted for the independent candidate, Panduleni Itula, who received 29% of the overall votes. No other candidate achieved a two-digit result. SWAPO, yet again, won a majority of seats in the National Assembly, but closely missed the threshold for a two-thirds majority, which it held since 1994. Consequently, opposition parties also gained seats, most prominently the [[Popular Democratic Movement]] (PDM), formerly the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), which obtained 16 seats in the National Assembly.<ref name=reduced>{{cite news | url=https://www.namibian.com.na/86045/read/Reduced-victory--Swapo-Geingob-drop-votes | newspaper=[[The Namibian]] | title = Reduced victory ... Swapo, Geingob drop votes | last=Iikela | first=Sakeus | date=2 December 2019 | page=1}}</ref> The PDM's 16.60% vote share is its best electoral performance since the [[1994 Namibian general election|1994 election]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-namibia-election-idUSKBN1Y40OG|title = Incumbent Geingob wins Namibia presidential election with 56.3% of the vote|newspaper = Reuters|date = 30 November 2019}}</ref> On 4 February 2024, President Hage Geingob died and he was immediately succeeded by vice-president [[Nangolo Mbumba]] as new President of Namibia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hage Geingob death: Namibia's new President Mbumba sworn-in hours after predecessor dies |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68196412 |date=4 February 2024}}</ref>

On 21 March 2025, [[Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah]] was sworn in as Namibia's first female president. She had won November's [[2024 Namibian general election|election]] with a 58% share of the vote as the candidate of the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo).<ref>{{cite news |title=Namibia swears in first female president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly8ln5g12wo |work=www.bbc.com |date=21 March 2025}}</ref>

===2019 presidential election===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:right
!Candidate
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|align=left|[[Hage Geingob]]||align=left|[[SWAPO]]||464,703||56.3
|-
|align=left|[[Panduleni Itula]]||align=left|Independent||242,657||29.4
|-
|align=left|[[McHenry Venaani]]||align=left|[[Popular Democratic Movement]]||43,959||5.3
|-
|align=left|[[Bernadus Swartbooi]]||align=left|[[Landless People's Movement (Namibia)|Landless People's Movement]]||22,542||2.7
|-
|align=left|Apius Auchab||align=left|[[United Democratic Front (Namibia)|United Democratic Front]]||22,115||2.7
|-
|align=left|[[Esther Muinjangue]]||align=left|[[National Unity Democratic Organisation]]||12,039||1.5
|-
|align=left|[[Tangeni Iiyambo]]||align=left|[[SWANU]]||5,959||0.7
|-
|align=left|[[Henk Mudge]]||align=left|[[Republican Party (Namibia)|Republican Party]]||4,379||0.5
|-
|align=left|[[Mike Kavekotora]]||align=left|[[Rally for Democracy and Progress (Namibia)|Rally for Democracy and Progress]]||3,515||0.4
|-
|align=left|[[Ignatius Shixwameni]]||align=left|[[All People's Party (Namibia)|All People's Party]]||3,304||0.4
|-
|align=left|Jan Mukwilongo||align=left|[[Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters]]||1,026||0.1
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Invalid/blank votes||0||–
|-
|align=left colspan=2|'''Total'''||'''826,198'''||'''100'''
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Registered voters/turnout||1,358,468||60.8
|-
|align=left colspan=4|Source: [https://www.ecn.na/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Final-Election-Results-Announcement-Speech-ECN-Chair-30-Nov-2019.pdf ECN]
|}

===2019 parliamentary election===

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:right
!colspan=2|Party
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!+/–
|-
|bgcolor=#F0001C| ||align=left|[[SWAPO]]||536,861||65.45||63||–14
|-
|bgcolor=#000080| ||align=left|[[Popular Democratic Movement]]||136,576||16.65||16||+11
|-
|bgcolor=#FC7B2C| ||align=left|[[Landless People's Movement (Namibia)|Landless People's Movement]]||38,956||4.75||4||New
|-
|bgcolor=#0B4000| ||align=left|[[National Unity Democratic Organisation]]|||16,066||1.96||2||0
|-
|bgcolor=#000000| ||align=left|[[All People's Party (Namibia)|All People's Party]]||14,664||1.79||2||0
|-
|bgcolor=#314BB2| ||align=left|[[United Democratic Front (Namibia)|United Democratic Front]]||14,644||1.79||2||0
|-
|bgcolor=#FFF100| ||align=left|[[Republican Party (Namibia)|Republican Party]]||14,546||1.77||2||+1
|-
|bgcolor=red| ||align=left|[[Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters]]||13,580||1.66||2||+2
|-
|bgcolor=#166B37| ||align=left|[[Rally for Democracy and Progress (Namibia)|Rally for Democracy and Progress]]||8,953||1.09||1||–2
|-
|bgcolor=#24B87A| ||align=left|[[Christian Democratic Voice]]||5,841||0.71||1||+1
|-
|bgcolor=#003580| ||align=left|[[SWANU]]||5,330||0.65||1||0
|-
|bgcolor=blue| ||align=left|[[Congress of Democrats]]||4,645||0.57||0||0
|-
|bgcolor=#EEEEEE| ||align=left|[[National Democratic Party (Namibia)|National Democratic Party]]||4,559||0.56||0||0
|-
|bgcolor=darkred| ||align=left|[[Workers Revolutionary Party (Namibia)|Workers Revolutionary Party]]||3,212||0.39||0||–2
|-
|bgcolor=#008000| ||align=left|[[National Patriotic Front (Namibia)|National Patriotic Front]]||1,785||0.22||0||New
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Invalid/blank votes||0||–||–||–
|-
|align=left colspan=2|'''Total'''||'''820,227'''||'''100'''||'''96''' ||'''–'''
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Registered voters/turnout||1,358,468||60.4||–||–
|-
|align=left colspan=6|Source: [https://www.ecn.na/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Final-Election-Results-Announcement-Speech-ECN-Chair-30-Nov-2019.pdf ECN]
|}

==Traditional leadership==
{{Main|Traditional leadership of Namibia}}
Namibian government has so far recognised 51 traditional authorities, and a further 40 applications are pending. These institutions are based on ethnicity and headed by the [[traditional leader]] of that ethnic group or clan. These positions are not paid by the state. Instead the traditional group's members are expected to sustain their leadership. Government did, however, give one car each to the recognised authorities, and awards allowances for fuel and administrative work. The parallel existence of traditional authorities and the Namibian government in Namibia is controversial.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Chiefs cost govt millions | last=Tjitemisa | first=Kuzeeko | newspaper=[[New Era (Namibia)|New Era]] | date=18 November 2016 | page=6 | url=https://www.newera.com.na/2016/11/18/chiefs-cost-govt-millions/}}</ref>

==Administrative divisions==
Namibia is divided into 14 [[Regions of Namibia|regions]]: Zambezi, Erongo, Hardap, ǁKaras, Kavango East, Kavango West, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, and Otjozondjupa.<ref name=split>{{cite news
|url=http://www.newera.com.na/articles/53580/President-divides-Kavango-into-two
|title=President divides Kavango into two
|last=Nakale
|first=Albertina
|date=9 August 2013
|newspaper=[[New Era (Namibia)|New Era]]
|publisher=via allafrica.com
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022020857/http://www.newera.com.na/articles/53580/President-divides-Kavango-into-two
|archive-date=22 October 2014}} [http://allafrica.com/stories/201308090372.html?viewall=1 Alt URL]</ref>

==International organisation participation==
Namibia is member of
[[African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States|ACP]],
[[African Development Bank|AfDB]],
[[Commonwealth of Nations|C]],
[[Economic Commission for Africa|ECA]],
[[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]],
[[Group of 77|G-77]],
[[International Atomic Energy Agency|IAEA]],
[[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|IBRD]],
[[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]],
[[International Criminal Court|ICCt]],
[[International Confederation of Free Trade Unions|ICFTU]],
[[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|ICRM]],
[[International Fund for Agricultural Development|IFAD]],
[[International Finance Corporation|IFC]],
[[International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies|IFRCS]],
[[International Labour Organization|ILO]],
[[International Monetary Fund|IMF]],
[[International Maritime Organization|IMO]],
[[International Criminal Police Organization|Interpol]],
[[International Olympic Committee|IOC]],
[[International Organization for Migration|IOM]]&nbsp;(observer),
[[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]]&nbsp;(correspondent),
[[International Telecommunication Union|ITU]],
[[Non-Aligned Movement|NAM]],
[[Organization of African Unity|OAU]],
[[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons|OPCW]],
[[Southern African Customs Union|SACU]],
[[Southern African Development Community|SADC]],
UN,
[[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development|UNCTAD]],
[[United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization|UNESCO]],
[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]],
[[United Nations Industrial Development Organization|UNIDO]],
[[United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea|UNMEE]],
[[Universal Postal Union|UPU]],
[[World Confederation of Labour|WCL]],
[[World Health Organization|WHO]],
[[World Intellectual Property Organization|WIPO]],
[[World Meteorological Organization|WMO]],
[[World Tourism Organization|WToO]],
[[World Trade Organization|WTrO]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Namibian elections}}
{{Africa in topic|Politics of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics Of Namibia}}
[[Category:Politics of Namibia| ]]