General elections are due to be held in

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 e ...

on 27 November 2024 to elect a new

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 f ...

and members of 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 rep ...

. They will be the country's seventh general elections since gaining independence from

apartheid South Africa 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 ...

in 1990.

Background

Outgoing president

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (born 3 August 1941) is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 2012 ...

died on 4 February 2024 while receiving treatment for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

and was replaced by his vice president,

Nangolo Mbumba Nangolo Mbumba (born 15 August 1941) in Olukonda, Namibia. He is a Namibian politician who currently serves as the 2nd vice president of Namibia. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Mbumba has headed a number of Nami ...

, who will serve out the remainder of his term, which expires on 21 March 2025. Mbumba has announced that he has no intention of running for president.

Electoral system

The

President of Namibia The president of the Republic of Namibia is the head of state and the head of government of Namibia. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of Namibia, as chair of the Cabinet and is the commander-in-chief of the armed fo ...

is elected using the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian res ...

; if no candidate receives more than 50% in the first round of voting, a run-off will be held. No previous presidential votes in Namibia have gone to a second round. The 104 members of the

consist of 96 elected members and eight (non-voting) members appointed by the President. The 96 elected members are elected by closed list

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

from 14 multi-member constituencies based on the

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 ...

. Seats are allocated using the

largest remainder method The largest remainder method (also known as Hare–Niemeyer method, Hamilton method or as Vinton's method) is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems. It contrasts with various ...

.Electoral system
IPU

Presidential candidates

As President Geingob was ineligible for reelection after having served two consecutive terms, he selected deputy prime minister

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (born 29 October 1952) is a Namibian politician who is the Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia since March 2015. She has also been serving as Namibia's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation since December 2012. ...

to run for president as a candidate of his party, the

South West Africa People's Organisation 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 ...

(SWAPO), of which she is also vice president, in 2023. Upon Geingob's death, she was appointed

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

by President Mbumba. If she wins the election, she would be the first female president of Namibia.

References

{{Namibian elections

General election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Parliamentary elections in Namibia Presidential elections in Namibia Future elections in Africa