Parliament of Namibia

Parliament is the law-making body of Namibia's legislature. It consists of two chambers:[1][2]

  1. The National Assembly (Lower chamber) initiates and approves laws. It consists of 104 members, 96 of which are elected by parliamentary election. The other eight are appointed by the president.
  2. The National Council (Upper chamber) advises the National Assembly on any required changes to subordinate laws that result from law-making in the National Assembly. It can be tasked by the National Assembly to perform other tasks. The National Council consists of 42 representatives of the Regional Councils; every Regional Council in the fourteen regions of Namibia elects three representatives.[2]
Parliament of Namibia
Type
Type
Bicameral
HousesNational Council
National Assembly
Leadership
Peter Katjavivi, SWAPO
since 21 March 2015
Bernard Sibalatani, SWAPO
since 9 December2019
Structure
Seats146
National Council (42)
National Assembly (104)
National Council political groups
Government (40)
  SWAPO (40)
Opposition (2)
  PDM (1)
  NUDO (1)
National Assembly political groups
Government (71)
  SWAPO (63)
  Appointed members (8)
Opposition (33)
  PDM (16)
  LPM (4)
  NUDO (2)
  APP (2)
  UDF (2)
  RP (2)
  NEEF (2)
  RDP (1)
  CDV (1)
  SWANU (1)
Elections
National Council voting system
Indirect election by Regional Councils
National Assembly voting system
Closed list proportional representation and appointments by the President
National Council last election
27 November 2015
National Assembly last election
27 November 2019
Meeting place
Tintenpalast, Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia
Website
www.parliament.na
Namibia
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Namibia

All cabinet members are members of the lower house. This situation has been criticised by Namibia's civil society and the opposition as creating a significant overlap between executive and legislature, undermining the separation of powers. The seniority of cabinet members generally relegate ordinary MPs to the back benches.[3]

From 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 had 26 representatives of the Regional Councils, 2 from each of the then thirteen regions.[1] Prior to the 2014 general elections the constitution was amended to increase both chambers to their current size.[2]

Speakers of Parliament
  • Hon. Prof. Peter Katjavivi, MP - Speaker of the National Assembly
  • Hon. Prof. Loide Kasingo, MPHon. - Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly

See also

References
  1. "GRN Structure. The Legislature". Government of Namibia. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  2. Quadri, Maryam Omolara; Thomas, Erika K (2018). "Women and political participation in Namibia and Nigeria: a comparative analysis of women in elective positions" (PDF). Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences. University of Namibia. 7 (2): 6–9. ISSN 2026-7215.
  3. Sasman, Catherine (22 March 2013). "Mbumba's presence in Cabinet under spotlight". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013.


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