The Constitution of Namibia is the supreme law of the
Republic of Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
. Adopted on 9 February 1990, a month prior to Namibia's
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
from
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, it was written by an
elected constituent assembly.
Preamble
"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is indispensable for freedom, justice and peace; Whereas the said rights include the right of the individual to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, regardless of race, colour, ethnic origin, sex, religion, creed or social or economic status; Whereas the said rights are most effectively maintained and protected in a democratic society, where the government is responsible to freely elected representatives of the people, operating under a sovereign constitution and a free and independent judiciary;
Whereas these rights have for so long been denied to the people of Namibia by colonialism, racism and apartheid;
Whereas we the people of Namibia -
have finally emerged victorious in our struggle against colonialism, racism and apartheid;
are determined to adopt a Constitution which expresses for ourselves and our children our resolve to cherish and to protect the gains of our long struggle; desire to promote amongst all of us the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Namibian nation among and in association with the nations of the world; will strive to achieve national reconciliation and to foster peace, unity and a common loyalty to a single state;
committed to these principles, have resolved to constitute the Republic of Namibia as a sovereign, secular, democratic and unitary State securing to all our citizens justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity.
Now therefore, we the people of Namibia accept and adopt this Constitution as the fundamental law of our Sovereign and Independent Republic."
Chapters
The Constitution consists of 21 chapters totaling 148 articles.
Chapter I The Republic
''Article 1 Establishment of the Republic of Namibia and Identification of its Territory''
''Article 2 National Symbols''
''Article 3 Language''
Chapter II Citizenship
''Article 4 Acquisition and loss of Citizenship''
Chapter III Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms
''Article 5 Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms''
''Article 6 Protection of Life''
''Article 7 Protection and Liberty''
''Article 8 Respect for Human Dignity''
Chapter IV Public Emergency, State of National Defence and Martial Law
Chapter V The President
Chapter VI The Cabinet
Chapter VII The National Assembly
Chapter VIII The National Council
Chapter IX The Administration of Justice
Chapter X The Ombudsman
Chapter XI Principles of State Policy
Chapter XII Regional and Local Government
Chapter XIII The Public Service Commission
Chapter XIV The Security Commission
Chapter XV The Police and Defence Forces and the Prison Service
Chapter XVI Finance
Chapter XVII Central Bank and National Planning Commission
Chapter XVIII Coming into Force of the Constitution
Chapter XX The Law in Force and Transitional Provisions
Chapter XXI Final Provisions
Chapter 2, consisting of the single Article 4, is the major source of
Namibian nationality law
Namibian nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Namibia, as amended; the Namibian Citizenship Act, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is elig ...
.
Amendments
Prior to the
2014 general elections, the Constitution was amended to increase the size of the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. The amendment saw an increase in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
from 78 seats (72 elected, 6 appointed by the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
) to 104 seats (96 elected, 8 appointed). The
National Council increased from 26 seats (two representatives from 13
regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
) to 42 seats (three representatives from 14 regions,
Kavango was split into
Kavango East
Kavango East is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Rundu, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The Region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West. The only self-governed settlem ...
and
Kavango West
Kavango West is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital and only self-governed settlement is Nkurenkuru, its governor is Sirkka Ausiku. The Region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West ...
). This expansion was introduced to allow for wider representation of the population,
although the real reason behind it was the newly introduced gender equality system of the ruling party
SWAPO
The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...
. This system would have pushed several male members out of parliament. These changes were approved against the votes of opposition parties, as SWAPO had a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
References
External links
Constitution of Namibia
First AmendmentSecond AmendmentThird Amendment
{{Constitutions of Africa
Constitutions by country, Namibia
Law of Namibia
1990 in Namibia