The Parliament of Namibia is the national legislature of

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. It is a

bicameral legislature Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single ...

consists of two houses: the National Council (

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

) and 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 repr ...

(

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

). All cabinet members are also 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 Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

, undermining the

separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...

. The seniority of cabinet members generally relegates ordinary MPs to the back benches. From Namibian independence until 2014 the National Assembly consisted of 78 members, 72 members elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

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. Prior to the 2014 general elections the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

was amended to increase both chambers to their current size.

Leadership

The National Assembly (lower house) elects a speaker and a deputy. Both lose their voting rights for the duration of their tenure. The speaker is

Saara Kuugongelwa Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila (born 12 October 1967) is a Namibian politician serving as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia from 21 March 2025. She served as the Prime Minister of Namibia from 2015 to 2025. She is a member of the S ...

, her deputy is Phillipus Katamelo (both SWAPO). The National Council (upper house) elects a chairperson.

References

External links

* 1990 establishments in Namibia

{{Namibia-gov-stub

Leadership

See also

References

External links