Elections in NamibiaElections in Namibia determine who holds public political offices in the country. Namibia is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic. It runs direct elections every five years for the position of the president and seats in the National Assembly, and every six years for the Regional Councils and the distribution of seats in local authorities. The National Council is elected indirectly by the constituency councillors of Namibia's 14 regions.
Parliament of NamibiaThe Parliament of Namibia is the national legislature of Namibia. It is a bicameral legislature and, thus, consists of two houses: the National Council (upper house) and the National Assembly (lower house). 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 and legislature, undermining the separation of powers. The seniority of cabinet members generally relegate ordinary MPs to the back benches.
National Council (Namibia)The National Council is the upper chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. It reviews bills passed by the lower chamber and makes recommendations for legislation of regional concern to the lower chamber. The 42 National Council members are indirectly elected by regional councils for a term of five years. Each of the 14 regional councils chooses three of its members to serve on the National Council. The last regional council elections were held on 25 November 2020.
NamibiaNamibia (nəˈmɪbiə, næˈ-), 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 east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres (660 feet) of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence.