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 stat ...

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 coun ...

, 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: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. 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 r ...

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 ...

) 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 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 Amendment

Second Amendment

Third Amendment
{{Constitutions of Africa Constitutions by country, Namibia Law of Namibia 1990 in Namibia