The Government of Namibia - The World Countries

Namibia - Government

Based on the etymolgy of Namibia, it was named for the coastal Namib Desert; the name "namib" means "vast place" in the Nama/Damara language. The Government system in this country is the presidential republic type and the different Administrative divisions includes: 14 regions; Erongo, Hardap, //Karas, Kavango East, Kavango West, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, Zambezi; note - the Karas Region was renamed //Karas in September 2013 to include the alveolar lateral click of the Khoekhoegowab language

National symbols

Oryx (antelope); national colors: blue, red, green, white, yellow.

The flag

The National flag of Namibia has a wide red stripe edged by narrow white stripes divides the flag diagonally from lower hoist corner to upper fly corner; the upper hoist-side triangle is blue and charged with a golden-yellow, 12-rayed sunburst; the lower fly-side triangle is green; red signifies the heroism of the people and their determination to build a future of equal opportunity for all; white stands for peace, unity, tranquility, and harmony; blue represents the Namibian sky and the Atlantic Ocean, the country's precious water resources and rain; the golden-yellow sun denotes power and existence; green symbolizes vegetation and agricultural resources.

The National Anthem

Title	"Namibia, Land of the Brave"
Lyric/music	Axali DOESEB

note: adopted 1991

More about the government of Namibia

Constitution
Date of Independence	21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)
National holiday	Independence Day, 21 March (1990)
Legal system	mixed legal system of uncodified civil law based on Roman-Dutch law and customary law
International law organization participation	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
History	Adopted 9 February 1990, entered into force 21 March 1990
Amendments	Passage requires majority vote of the National Assembly membership and of the National Council of Parliament and assent of the president of the republic; if the National Council fails to pass an amendment, the president can call for a referendum; passage by referendum requires two-thirds majority of votes cast; amendments that detract from or repeal constitutional articles on fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be amended, and the requisite majorities needed by Parliament to amend the constitution cannot be changed; amended 1998, 2010, 2014
Citizenship
Citizenship by birth	no
Citizenship by descent only	at least one parent must be a citizen of Namibia
Dual citizenship recognized	no
Residency requirement for naturalization	5 years
Executive Branch
Chief of state	Acting President Nangolo MBUMBA (since 4 February 2024)
Head of government	Acting President Nangolo MBUMBA (since 4 February 2024)
Cabinet	Cabinet appointed by the president from among members of the National Assembly
Elections/appointments	president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 27 November 2024 (next to be held in November 2029) note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; note- President Hage GEINGOB died on 4 February 2024, and Vice President MBUMBA was sworn in to run the government until the next presidential election in November 2024; note- Netumbo Nandi-NDAITWAH won the 7 December 2024 election with her inauguration scheduled for 21 March 2025
Election results	2024: Netumbo Nandi-NDAITWAH elected president in the first round; percent of vote -Netumbo Nandi-NDAITWAH (SWAPO) 57%, Panduleni ITULA (IPC) 26%, McHenry VENAANI (PDM) 5.10%, Bernadus SWARTBOOI (LPM) 4.72%, Job AMUPANDA (AR) 1.80%, Hendrik GAOBEAB (UDF) 1.16%; other 3.31% 2019: Hage GEINGOB reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Hage GEINGOB (SWAPO) 56.3%, Panduleni ITULA (independent) 29.4%, McHenry VENAANI (PDM) 5.3%, other .9%
Legislative branch
Description	Bicameral Parliament consists of: National Council (42 seats); members indirectly elected 3 each by the 14 regional councils to serve 5-year terms) National Assembly (104 seats; 96 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed list, proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms and 8 nonvoting members appointed by the president)
Elections	National Council - elections for regional councils to determine members of the National Council held on 25 November 2020 (next to be held on 25 November 2025) National Assembly - last held on 27 November 2019 (next to be held in November 2024)
Election results	Nstional Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SWAPO 28, LPM 6, IPC 2, PDM 2, UDF 2, NUDO 1, independent 1; composition - men 36, women 6, percentage women 14.3% National Assembly - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 65.5%, PDM 16.6%, LPM 4.7%, NUDO 1.9%, APP 1.8%, UDF 1.8%, RP 1.8%, NEFF 1.7%, RDP 1.1%, CDV .7%, SWANU .6%, other 1.8%; seats by party - SWAPO 63, PDM 16, LPM 4, NUDO 2, APP 2, UDF 2, RP 2, NEFF 2, RDP 1, CDV 1, SWANU 1; composition - men 58, women 46, percentage women 44.2%; total Parliament percentage women 35.6%
Judicial branch
Highest court(s)	Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and at least 3 judges in quorum sessions)
Judge selection and term of office	Judges appointed by the president of Namibia upon the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission; judges serve until age 65, but terms can be extended by the president until age 70
Subordinate courts	High Court; Electoral Court, Labor Court; regional and district magistrates' courts; community courts
Diplomatic representation in the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador Margareth Natalie MENSAH-WILLIAMS (since 18 January 2021)
Chancery	1605 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
Telephone	[1] (202) 986-0540
FAX	[1] (202) 986-0443
Email address and website	[email protected] https://namibiaembassyusa.org/
Diplomatic representation from the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador Randy William BERRY (since 9 February 2023)
Embassy	38 Metje Street, Klein Windhoek, Windhoek
Mailing address	2540 Windhoek Place, Washington DC 20521-2540
Telephone	[264] (61) 202-5000
FAX	[264] (61) 202-5219
Email address and website	[email protected] https://na.usembassy.gov/
National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites	2 (1 cultural, 1 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales	Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes (c); Namib Sand Sea (n)