National Assembly (Namibia)

The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. Its laws must be approved by the National Council, the upper house. Since 2014, it has a total of 104 members. 96 members are directly elected through a system of closed list proportional representation and serve five-year terms.[2] Eight additional members are appointed by the President. Since 2015, SWAPO member Peter Katjavivi has been the Speaker of the National Assembly.[3]

National Assembly
Type
Type
History
Founded21 March 1990[1]
Leadership
Peter Katjavivi, SWAPO
since 21 March 2015
Loide Kasingo, SWAPO
since 21 March 2010
Structure
Seats104
Political groups
Government (71)
  SWAPO (63)
  Appointed members (8)
Opposition (33)
  PDM (16)
  LPM (4)
  NUDO (2)
  APP (2)
  UDF(2)
  RP (2)
  NEFF (2)
  RDP (1)
  CDV (1)
  SWANU (1)
Length of term
5 years
Elections
Closed list proportional representation and appointments by the President
Last election
27 November 2019
Meeting place
Tintenpalast, Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia
Website
Parliament of Namibia
Namibia
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Namibia
Constitution
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Judiciary
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Foreign relations

Namibia's National Assembly emerged on Independence Day on 21 March 1990 from the Constituent Assembly of Namibia, following the elections of November 1989. That election, following guidelines established by the United Nations, included foreign observers in an effort to ensure a free and fair election process. The current National Assembly was formed following elections on 27 November 2019.

2019 elections
Party Votes % Seats +/–
SWAPO536,86165.563–14
Popular Democratic Movement136,57616.616+11
Landless People's Movement38,9564.74New
National Unity Democratic Organisation16,0661.920
All People's Party14,6641.820
United Democratic Front14,6441.820
Republican Party14,5461.82+1
Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters13,5801.72+2
Rally for Democracy and Progress8,9531.11–2
Christian Democratic Voice5,8410.71+1
SWANU5,3300.610
Congress of Democrats4,6450.600
National Democratic Party4,5590.600
Workers Revolutionary Party3,2120.40–2
National Patriotic Front1,7850.20New
Invalid/blank votes0–––
Total820,22710096–
Registered voters/turnout1,358,46860.4––
Source: ECN


Identification badge of a Foreign Observer issued during the 1989 election - (Chesley V. Morton of the Georgia House of Representatives)

Previous National Assembly election results
Political Party Election Year
1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014
South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) 41 53 55 55 54 77
Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) - - - - 8 3
Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) 21 15 7 4 2 5
United Democratic Front (UDF) 4 2 2 3 2 2
National Unity Democratic Organization (NUDO) - - - 3 2 2
Congress of Democrats (COD) - - 7 5 1 0
Republican Party (RP) - - - 1 1 1
South West Africa National Union (SWANU) - 0 0 0 1 1
All People’s Party (APP) - - - - 1 2
Monitor Action Group (MAG) - 1 1 1 0 0
Democratic Coalition of Namibia (DCN) - 1 0 - - -
Federal Convention of Namibia (FCN) 1 0 0 - - -
Action Christian National (ACN) 3 - - - - -
Namibia Patriotic Front (NPF) 1 - - - - -
Namibia National Front (NNF) 1 - - - - -
Total 72 72 72 72 72 96

Despite being a one party dominant state since its independence in 1990, Namibian elections have been transparent, free, and largely fair.[3][4]

See also

References
  1. https://www.parliament.na/index.php/1st-national-assembly-1990-1995
  2. https://data.ipu.org/content/namibia?chamber_id=13470
  3. "How to Register as a Voter". Electoral Commission of Namibia. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  4. "Namibia Rebel Group Wins Vote, But It Falls Short of Full Control". The New York Times. 15 November 1989. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
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