1.
Hage Geingob
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Hage Gottfried Geingob is the third and the current President of Namibia, in office since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 21 March 1990 to 28 August 2002, between 2008 and 2012 Geingob served as Minister of Trade and Industry. He was Vice-President of the South West Africa Peoples Organization between 2007 and 2015 and became President in 2015 when his predecessor, Hifikepunye Pohamba, stepped down, in November 2014, Geingob was elected as President of Namibia by an overwhelming margin. Geingob was born in Otjiwarongo, South-West Africa, in 1941 and he received his early education at Otavi in South-West Africa under the Bantu Education System. He joined the Augustineum, where most of today’s prominent political leaders of Namibia were educated, in 1960, he was expelled from Augustineum for having participated in a march in protest at the poor quality of education. He was, however, re-admitted and was able to finish the course in 1961. Subsequently, he took up a position at the Tsumeb Primary School in Central Namibia. As a teacher, he hated being an unwilling instrument in perpetuating the Bantu Education System. Therefore, at the end of the year, he left his job to seek knowledge. He, with three of his colleagues, walked and hitch-hiked to Botswana to escape the system, from Botswana, he was scheduled to go to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on a plane chartered by the African National Congress. However, this plane was blown up by the South Africans when it was still on the ground because the bomb went off prematurely. Subsequently, the regime also tightened up the underground railway. As a result, Hage Geingob stayed on in Botswana where he served as Assistant South West Africa Peoples Organization Representative in Botswana, in 1964, Hage Geingob left for the United States to study at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was granted a scholarship. Subsequently, he obtained a BA degree from Fordham University in New York City in 1970, in 1964, he was appointed SWAPO Representative at the United Nations and to the Americas. He served in this position until 1971 and he travelled extensively, criss-crossing the United States, talking with people, addressing gatherings. He and his colleagues were not always successful, but ultimately the United Nations General Assembly recognised SWAPO as the sole, namibians struggle at the international fora, and their armed struggle launched in 1966 eventually led to the independence of Namibia in 1990. He, with his team, was responsible for starting this training, an important component of the Institute was also to carry out sectoral research to develop policy framework for the government of independent Namibia. Over the years, the Institute grew in stature and institutional relations were established with various institutions of learning in Europe
2.
Term of office
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A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years
3.
Sam Nujoma
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Samuel Shafiishuna Nujoma, is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a member and the first president of the South West Africa Peoples Organization in 1960. He played an important role as leader of the liberation movement in campaigning for Namibias independence from South African rule. Nujoma led SWAPO during the lengthy Namibian War of Independence, which lasted from 1966 to 1989, during World War I, South Africa defeated the German colonial forces in South West Africa and established martial law in the colony after making a peace treaty in July 1915. After the war, the League of Nations officially assigned the former German colony, when the National Party won the 1948 election in South Africa, it passed laws establishing racial segregation known as apartheid. It applied these laws to Southwest Africa as well, which it governed as the de facto province of South Africa. Apartheid created strict racial classifications and reduced the rights of natives, Nujoma became involved in anti-colonial politics during the 1950s. In 1959, he traveled to Cape Town, South Africa and became a founder and president of the Ovamboland Peoples Organization, in December 1958 he was an organizer of the Old Location resistance and was arrested and deported to Ovamboland. In 1960 he escaped and went into exile in Tanzania where he was welcomed by Julius Nyerere, Namibia finally achieved independence in 1990, holding its first democratic elections. SWAPO won a majority and Nujoma was elected as the countrys first President on March 21,1990 and he was re-elected for two more terms in 1994 and 1999. Nujoma retired as SWAPO party president on November 30,2007 and he published his autobiography Where Others Wavered in 2005. He has received honors and awards for his outstanding leadership including the Lenin Peace Prize, Indira Gandhi Peace Prize. The Parliament of Namibia honored him with the titles Founding President of the Republic of Namibia, in 2007 SWAPO named him as Leader of the Namibian Revolution. Samuel Daniel Nujoma was born at Etunda, a village in Ongandjera, near the town of Okahao, Ovamboland, Nujoma was born to Helvi Mpingana Kondombolo and Daniel Uutoni Nujoma. He is the eldest of his parents eleven children and he spent much of his early childhood looking after his siblings and tending to the familys cattle and traditional farming activities. He started attending a Finnish missionary school at Okahao when he was ten and completed Standard Six, which was as high as possible for blacks during the time. In 1946, at age 17, he moved to Walvis Bay live with his aunt and he would later also work at a whaling station. While there he was exposed to politics by meeting soldiers from Argentina, Norway
4.
Vice-President of Namibia
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The Vice-President of Namibia is the acting President of Namibia when the President is outside the countrys borders, unable to fulfill the duties of the office, or when the Presidency is vacant. The Vice-President is also a member of the National Assembly and the Cabinet, the Vice-President is constitutionally required to assist the President in the execution of the functions of government, and may be assigned any government portfolio by presidential proclamation. The position of Vice-President was established in 2014 along with other constitutional amendments. The position is due to its unclear portfolio. The current Vice-President, appointed by President Hage Geingob is Nickey Iyambo
5.
Namibia
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Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa whose 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, although it does not border Zimbabwe, a part of less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek, and it is a state of the United Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union. The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by the San, Damara, since about the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. Since then the Bantu groups in total, known as the Ovambo people, have dominated the population of the country, in the late 19th century during European colonization, the German Empire established rule over most of the territory as a protectorate in 1884. It began to develop infrastructure and farming, and maintained this German colony until 1915, after the end of World War I, in 1920 the League of Nations mandated the country to the United Kingdom, under administration by South Africa. It imposed its laws, including racial classifications and rules, from 1948, with the National Party elected to power, South Africa applied apartheid also to what was known as South West Africa. In 1878 the Cape of Good Hope had annexed the port of Walvis Bay and the offshore Penguin Islands, following continued guerrilla warfare, South Africa installed an interim administration in Namibia in 1985. Namibia obtained full independence from South Africa in 1990, but Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands remained under South African control until 1994. Namibia has a population of 2.1 million people and a stable multi-party parliamentary democracy, Agriculture, herding, tourism and the mining industry – including mining for gem diamonds, uranium, gold, silver, and base metals – form the basis of its economy. The large, arid Namib Desert has resulted in Namibia being overall one of the least densely populated countries in the world, Namibia enjoys high political, economic and social stability. The name of the country is derived from the Namib Desert, before its independence in 1990, the area was known first as German South-West Africa, then as South-West Africa, reflecting the colonial occupation by the Germans and the South Africans. The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by San, Damara, from about the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived during the Bantu expansion from central Africa. From the late 18th century onwards, Oorlam people from Cape Colony crossed the Orange River and their encounters with the nomadic Nama tribes were largely peaceful. The missionaries accompanying the Oorlam were well received by them, the right to use waterholes, on their way further northwards, however, the Oorlam encountered clans of the Herero at Windhoek, Gobabis, and Okahandja, who resisted their encroachment. The Nama-Herero War broke out in 1880, with hostilities ebbing only after the German Empire deployed troops to the places and cemented the status quo among the Nama, Oorlam. The first Europeans to disembark and explore the region were the Portuguese navigators Diogo Cão in 1485 and Bartolomeu Dias in 1486, like most of interior Sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia was not extensively explored by Europeans until the 19th century
6.
Politics of Namibia
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Executive power is exercised by both the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the two chambers of Parliament, the judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Additional to the government political structure Namibia has a network of traditional leadership with currently 51 recognised traditional authorities and these authorities cover the entire Namibian territory. Traditional leaders are entrusted with the allocation of land and the formulation of the traditional groups customary laws. They also take over minor judicial work, the Constituent Assembly of Namibia produced a constitution which established a multi-party system and a bill of rights. It also limited the president to two five-year terms and provided for the private ownership of property. The three branches of government are subject to checks and balances, and a provision is made for judicial review, the constitution also states that Namibia should have a mixed economy, and foreign investment should be encouraged. The constitution is noted for being one of the first to incorporate protection of the environment into its text, Namibia is a democratic but one party dominant state with the South-West Africa Peoples Organisation in power. Opposition parties are allowed, but are considered to have no real chance of gaining power. The government is still organizing itself on both national and regional levels, the Constituent Assembly converted itself into the National Assembly on February 16,1990, retaining all the members elected on a straight party ticket. The Namibian head of state is the president, elected by popular vote every five years, Namibias founding president is Sam Nujoma, who was in office for three terms from 21 March 1990 until 21 March 2005. Hifikepunye Pohamba was Namibias second president serving from 2005 to 2015, since 2015 Hage Geingob has been President of Namibia. While the separation of powers is enshrined in the constitution, Namibias civil society. All cabinet members also sit in the National Assembly and dominate that body—not numerically, the government is headed by the prime minister, who, together with his cabinet, is appointed by the president. SWAPO, the force behind independence, is still the countrys largest party. Hage Geingob was Namibias first Prime Minister and he was appointed on 21 March 1990 and served until 28 August 2002. Theo-Ben Gurirab was Prime Minister from 28 August 2002 to 21 March 2005, since 21 March 2015, Hage Geingob is President of Namibia. The National Assembly has 78 members, elected for a term,72 members elected by proportional representation
7.
Constitution of Namibia
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The Constitution of Namibia is the constitution of the Republic of Namibia. Adopted in February 9,1990, a prior to Namibias independence from apartheid South Africa. Now therefore, we the people of Namibia accept and adopt this Constitution as the law of our Sovereign. The Constitution consists of 21 chapters totaling 148 articles, Constitution of Namibia First Amendment Second Amendment Third Amendment
8.
Government of Namibia
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The Government of Namibia consists of the executive, the legislative and the judiciary branches. The Cabinet is the organ of government, implementing the laws of the country. It consists of the President, the Prime Minister and his deputy, the legislative organs of government are the National Council and the National Assembly. They make the laws of the country, the judiciary organs of government are the courts. The highest court of Namibia is the Supreme Court, there is also the High Court, and lower courts. The Namibian government is partly centralised and partly regional, in the executive branch, Central government consists of ministries, offices and agencies, whereas regional government consists of Regional Councils, and constituencies within these. The legislation is centralised in the house, and regional in the upper house. The judiciary is centralised in the Supreme Court, whereas High Courts, the central executive branch of government consists of Offices, Ministries, and Agencies
9.
Saara Kuugongelwa
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Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila is the fourth and current Prime Minister of Namibia, in office since 21 March 2015. Kuugongelwa is a member of the South West Africa Peoples Organization and she has been a member of the National Assembly of Namibia since 1995 and served as Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2015. Born in Otamanzi, Omusati, Kuugongelwa went into exile with SWAPO in 1980 at the age of 13 and she attended Koidu Girls Secondary School from 1982 to 1984 and Saint Josephs Secondary School from 1984 to 1987. From 1991 to 1994, Kuugongelwa attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, United States, Kuugongelwa returned to Namibia following graduation from Lincoln and took a position as a desk officer in the Office of the President under President Sam Nujoma. At the age of 27 in 1995, Kuugongelwa was named Director General of the National Planning Commission and she was appointed as Minister of Finance in 2003. On Heroes Day 2014 she was conferred the Most Brilliant Order of the Sun, alongside President Hage Geingob, Kuugongelwa was sworn in as the 4th Prime Minister of Namibia on 21 March 2015. She is the first woman to hold the position
10.
Cabinet of Namibia
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The Cabinet of Namibia is an appointed body that was established by the Chapter 6 of the Constitution of Namibia. It is mandated to include the positions, the President of Namibia. All cabinet members also sit in the National Assembly and this situation has been criticised by Namibias 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, the current Cabinet was announced on 19 March 2015. For the first time, there are ministries with two Deputy Ministers, significantly enlarging the Cabinet, the SWAPO congress end of November 2012 resulted in one of the biggest Cabinet reshuffles the country has seen since independence
11.
Parliament of Namibia
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Parliament is the law-making body of Namibias legislature. It consists of two chambers, The National Assembly initiates and approves laws and it consists of 78 members,72 of which are elected by parliamentary election. The other six are appointed by the president, the National Council advises the National Assembly on any required changes to subordinate laws that result from law-making in the National Assembly. It can be tasked by the National Assembly to perform other tasks, the National Council consists of 26 representatives of the Regional Councils, every Regional Council in the 13 regions of Namibia elects two representatives. All cabinet members are members of the lower house and this situation has been criticised by Namibias 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, politics of Namibia List of legislatures by country Official website
12.
National Council (Namibia)
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The National Council is the upper chamber of Namibias bicameral Parliament. The 42 National Council members are chosen by councils, which are directly elected for a term of six 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 27 November 2015. The current chairperson is Margaret Mensah-Williams, ten women occupy seats in the National Council. National Assembly of Namibia - the lower chamber of Parliament History of Namibia Legislative Branch List of Chairpersons of the National Council of Namibia List of national legislatures
13.
National Assembly (Namibia)
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The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibias bicameral Parliament. It has a total of 104 members,96 members are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms. Eight additional members are appointed by the President, the current National Assembly was formed following elections on 28 November 2014. Since 2015, SWAPO member Peter Katjavivi has been the Speaker of the National Assembly, despite being a one party dominant state since its independence in 1990, Namibian elections have been transparent, free, and largely fair
14.
Judiciary of Namibia
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The judiciary of Namibia consists of a three-tiered set of courts, the Lower, High and Supreme Courts. The Lower Courts are established by an act of Parliament and are bound by the four corners of legislation, there are several lower courts in Namibia. They are the courts, the arbitration tribunals and the customary courts. Magistrates courts deal with the most cases in the legal system. They are manned by magistrates who are employed by the Ministry of Justice, the decisions of magistrates courts are written down, however, they are not recorded in any law report. The decisions have to be written in either party to the proceedings feel prejudiced by the outcome. They are created by the Magistrates Court Act no.32 of 1944, the magistrates are governed by the Magistrates Act 3 of 2003. Arbitration tribunals are established by section 85 of the Labour Act No.11 of 2007, arbitration tribunals operate under the auspices of the Labour Commissioner. They deal with labour disputes, mainly arising from alleged contraventions of the Labour Act, Community courts, which apply customary law, were created by the Community Courts Act 10 of 2003. Prior to this date these courts operated informally without recognition as part of the legal system, the courts have no reporting system, as the laws that they apply are very dynamic and may not be applied the same in any number of cases heard before them. The regional courts are the least used lower courts, and are becoming obsolete. The High Court is situated in the capital Windhoek but may, at the discretion of the Judge President, the High Court building in downtown Windhoek was inaugurated in 1960 and is currently undergoing renovations and expansions. The High Court exercises original jurisdiction, the High Court is presided over by the Judge-President. A full sitting of the High Court consists of the Judge-President and 6 other judges and its jurisdiction with regard to appeals shall be determined by Acts of Parliament. Decisions of the High Court, which lower courts, are recorded both in Namibian and South African law reports. The decisions are recorded and summarized in the way as Supreme Court decisions. The Labour Court is a division of the High Court, the Judge-President must assign suitable judges to the Labour Court, each of whom must be a judge or an acting judge of the High Court. The Supreme Court is the highest national forum of appeal and it has inherent jurisdiction over all legal matters in Namibia
15.
Chief Justice of Namibia
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The Chief Justice of Namibia is the head of the Supreme Court of Namibia, the highest appellate court in Namibia. It is the highest post in the Namibias judicial system, presiding over the operation of the supreme court, the position was created on 21 March 1990, the day of Namibian independence, along with the foundation of the Supreme Court. They can further request the Namibian president to appoint Acting Judges, either to fill temporary vacancies, the Chief Justice and all other judges are appointed by the president on recommendation by the Judicial Service Commission in which the Chief Justice is a member. Other members of this commission are the Attorney-General, an appointed by the president. While Namibias constitution enshrines the independence of the judiciary, appointment of judges lies in the power of the president, in 2002, the official retirement age for judges in Namibia was amended from 70 to 65. At reaching retirement age, judges including the Chief Justice can only be reappointed in acting position, as a legacy from Commonwealth, Justices in Namibia bear the title Lord. The present Chief Justice is His Lordship Peter Shivute
16.
Administrative divisions of Namibia
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Namibia is divided into 14 regions and subdivided into 121 constituencies. The administrative divisions of Namibia are tabled by Delimitation Commissions and accepted or declined by the National Assembly, before the independence of Namibia the territory was known as South-West Africa and as German South-West Africa during the time of colonialisation by the German Empire. During the South African administration it was considered the de facto province of South Africa. The territory that became the independent state of Namibia on 21 March 1990 inherited the administrative division of this province which consisted of 26 districts. These districts remained until the First Delimitation Commission of Namibia tabled its recommendations in the National Assembly, since then, Namibia is divided into regions which in turn are divided into constituencies. They are mentioned in articles 102-104 of the constitution, and they are to sit approximately once every ten years, the chairman of the Delimitation Commission must be a judge at either a High Court or the Supreme Court. This judge and the other two members are appointed by the president, subject to the approval of Parliament. The four Delimitation Commissions of Namibia so far are, The current administrative division of Namibia is the result of the work of the Fourth Delimitation Commission, Namibia is divided into 14 regions and 121 constituencies
17.
Regions of Namibia
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The administrative divisions of Namibia are tabled by Delimitation Commissions and accepted or declined by the National Assembly. As of August 2013, the new division re-organization has 14 regions, constituencies of Namibia ISO 3166-2, NA Namibia 2001 Population and Housing Census
18.
Constituencies of Namibia
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Each of the 14 regions in Namibia is further subdivided into electoral constituencies. The size of the constituencies varies with the size and population of each region, there are currently 121 constituencies in Namibia. The most populous constituency is Walvis Bay Urban, the least populous is Walvis Bay Rural, the administrative division of Namibia is tabled by Delimitation Commissions and accepted or declined by the National Assembly. In 1992, the First Delimitation Commission chaired by Judge President Johan Strydom determined the number of constituencies to be 95, since then, every Delimitation Commission has increased this number to accommodate population growth. The fourth Delimitation Commission increased the number of constituencies to its present number in 2013, regional councillors are directly elected through secret ballots by the inhabitants of their constituencies. They occupy an office in the main settlement of their district. However, once elected they keep their job and are expected to run their constituencies after hours
19.
Elections in Namibia
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Elections in Namibia gives information on election and election results in Namibia. Namibia elects on national level a head of state - the president -, the president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The Parliament is bicameral in nature, the National Assembly has 78 members of which 72 are elected by direct popular vote using the proportional representation and a maximum of 6 non-voting members are appointed by the president. The members are elected for a five-year term, the National Council has 26 members, elected for a six-year term in double-seat constituencies. Namibia is a democratic but one party dominant state with the South-West Africa Peoples Organisation in power, opposition parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. Electoral calendar Electoral system Adam Carrs Election Archive Namibia Elections 2009 Namibia Election Results 2009 Elections in Namibia, African Elections Database
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Namibian general election, 2009
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A presidential and parliamentary election was held on 27–28 November 2009 in Namibia. It was the general election since independence and the fifth democratic election. Voting ended on 28 November and official results, released on 4 December, showed that Hifikepunye Pohamba and his SWAPO Party were re-elected. Prior to the election, the South West Africa Peoples Organization was widely expected to score a victory, with the Rally for Democracy. Fourteen political parties competed for seats in the National Assembly of Namibia, the ruling SWAPO party set a goal of winning all 72 seats in the National Assembly and controlling the NA until the second coming of Jesus Christ. At the SWAPO party congress in November 2007, current President Hifikepunye Pohamba was elected President of SWAPO, SWAPO ended up winning 54 seats, a one-seat loss from the third National Assembly. This was the first general election for the Rally for Democracy, the partys nominee for President was Hidipo Hamutenya, a former government minister of SWAPO. The RDP was considered the opposition to the ruling SWAPO. It gained eight seats in the National Assembly and became the Official Opposition, on 16 October 2009, the National Unity Democratic Organisation was the first political party to officially submit their candidate, Kuaima Riruako, for President. The National Society for Human Rights observer status was withdrawn by the electoral commission, the organisation said it would approach the High Court to contest the decision, the court later ordered the commission to reinstate the organisation. Though the country planned to buy electronic voting machines from India sometime in 2009, Hifikepunye Pohamba was re-elected as President of Namibia with 611,241 votes, more than six times as many as Hamutenya, his nearest rival, received. Final results were announced on 4 December, the longest delay between voting and the publication of results of any Namibian election. The Electoral Commission of Namibia blamed the delay on a recent amendment to the Electoral Act which had caused logistical nightmares never experienced before, the ECN had received criticism from political parties, civil societies and the general public for the delay. Electoral observers have pronounced the polls to be free and fair but recommended that the ECN speed up the counting process, the accuracy of the results of this election has been questioned, not only by the defeated opposition parties but also by the Namibian Society of Human Rights. Further minor concerns were people being allowed to vote on behalf of someone else, voters asked to disclose their affiliation at polling stations. Electoral Commission of Namibia, official website Namibia Elections 2009 – Party lists, Manifestos, News, Comment, Namibia Election Results 2009 Namibia Elections 2009 Key Dates
21.
Namibian local and regional elections, 2010
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Namibia held elections for their local and regional councils on 26 and 27 November 2010. The terms of councillors and local authority representatives were originally set to expire in 2009. As a local and regional election in 2009 would have meant to organise four different elections in one year, regional elections contested 101 seats in 13 regional councils. Local elections determine the population of the village, town, and city councils and have an influence on who will become mayor. Contrary to the elections, local elections in Namibia are determined by party. There are 50 local authorities in Namibia with a total of 327 seats, the ruling SWAPO Party obtained representation in all local councils and won 226 seats all in all. Rally for Democracy and Progress, the opposition, managed to get into 36 local councils with a total of 48 seats in them
22.
Foreign relations of Namibia
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Namibia follows a largely independent foreign policy, with strong affiliations with states that aided the independence struggle, including Libya and Cuba. In Africa, Namibia has been involved in conflicts in neighbouring Angola as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia is a member of 47 international organizations. These are, Namibia became the 160th member of the United Nations on 23 April 1990 upon independence, with a small army and a fragile economy, the Namibian Governments principal foreign policy concern is developing strengthened ties within the Southern African region. A dynamic member of the Southern African Development Community, Namibia is an advocate for greater regional integration. Namibia is involved in several international disputes. In 1999 Namibia signed a defence pact with its northern neighbour Angola. This affected the Angolan Civil War that has been ongoing since Angolas independence in 1975, Namibias ruling party SWAPO wanted to support the ruling party MPLA in Angola to fight the rebel movement UNITA, whose stronghold is in southern Angola, bordering Namibia. The defence pact allowed Angolan troops to use Namibian territory when attacking UNITA, the alliance between SWAPO and MPLA has deep roots and began as both Angolas and Namibias ruling parties sought independence during the mid twentieth century and into the Angolan Civil War. In Angola, the leftist movement MPLA was fighting the rightist movement UNITA, in Namibia, SWAPO, then being a rebel movement, was fighting for independence from South Africa along the Angolan border. Angola allowed SWAPO to establish training and refugee camps for Namibians, as MPLA and SWAPO shared a common ideological ground, and had a common enemy in South Africa, they came to cooperate. The Angolan civil war resulted in a number of Angolan refugees coming to Namibia. At its peak in 2001 there were over 30,000 Angolan refugees in Namibia, the calmer situation in Angola has made it possible for many of them to return to their home with the help of UNHCR, and in 2004 only 12,600 remained in Namibia. Most of them reside in the refugee camp Osire north of Windhoek, Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Botswana were established on 2 October 2006. Botswana–Namibia relations are friendly, with the two neighbouring countries cooperating on economic development, Botswana gained independence from Britain in September 1966. Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990 following the Namibian War of Independence, Botswana has a high commission in Windhoek. Namibia has a commission in Gaborone. In 1990 official relations started, Canada has dispatched a Honorary Consul to Windhoek, Canada is one of the main destinations for Namibian refugees. Only in 2010 Canada has changed its standpoint and is now considering the CLA to be a terrorist organisation that has attempted to usurp an elected government, nonetheless, Canada received a steady inflow of Namibian immigrants who seek economic betterment under the pretense of humiliation and harassment in Namibia
23.
Head of state
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A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president
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Head of government
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The term head of government is often differentiated from the term head of state, as they may be separate positions, individuals, and/or roles depending on the country. In parliamentary systems, including constitutional monarchies, the head of government is the de facto leader of the government. For example, in the United Kingdom, the prime minister advises the Queen on the appointment of the cabinet, advice she is required to accept. On the other hand, the Queens long service as the head of state enables her to provide the prime minister with information and insight into many matters to better run the government. However, because the United Kingdom is a monarchy, the Prime Minister uses his or her own discretion regarding whether or not to follow the Queens advice. The Queen also is entitled to appoint a new Prime Minister, in presidential republics or in absolute monarchies, the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy, in semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature, with the specifics provided by each countrys constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958, in France, the president, the head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party, in this case, known as cohabitation, the prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the presidents influence is largely restricted to foreign affairs. In directorial systems, the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people, a prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council, where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. A common title for many heads of government is prime minister, various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, some of these titles relate to governments below the national level. Have been used by various Empires, Kingdoms and Princely States of India as a title for the Prime Minister, maltese, In Malta, the head of government is Prim Ministru. In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch, some such titles are diwan, mahamantri, pradhan, wasir or vizier. However, just because the head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader, in some cases, the head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion, the ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government. Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget, all of these requirements directly impact the Head of governments role. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament, heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Resignation, following, Defeat in a general election
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Commander-in-chief
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A commander-in-chief is the person or body that exercises supreme operational command and control of a nations military forces or significant elements of those forces. In the latter case, the element is those forces within a particular region. Often, a given countrys commander-in-chief need not be or have been an officer or even a veteran. This follows the principle of civilian control of the military, the role of commander-in-chief derives from the Latin, imperator. Imperatores of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire possessed imperium powers, in its modern use, the term first applied to King Charles I of England in 1639. It continued to be used during the English Civil War, a nations head of state usually holds the nominal position of commander-in-chief, even if effective executive power is held by a separate head of government. Governors-general and colonial governors are also often appointed commander-in-chief of the forces within their territory. A commander-in-chief is sometimes referred to as commander, which is sometimes used as a specific term. The term is used for military officers who hold such power and authority, not always through dictatorship. The term is used for officers who hold authority over an individual military branch. According to the Constitution of Albania, The President of the Republic of Albania is the Commander-in-chief of Albanian Armed Forces, the incumbent Commander-in-chief is President Bujar Nishani. The Ministry of Defense is the government department that assists and serves the President in the management of the armed forces, the Minister for Defence and several subordinate ministers exercise this control through the Australian Defence Organisation. The Constitution states, in Article 80, that the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Armed Forces. e, the cabinet under the chairmanship of the Federal Chancellor, as defined in Article 69. The commander-in-chief is the president, although executive power and responsibility for national defense resides with the prime minister and he retired on 7 April 1972 and relinquished all authority and duties to the President of Bangladesh. Article 142 of the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 states that the Brazilian Armed Forces is under the command of the President of the Republic. The Sultan of Brunei is the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, the powers of command-in-chief over the Canadian Armed Forces are vested in the Canadian monarch, and are delegated to the Governor General of Canada, who also uses the title Commander-in-Chief. In this capacity, the general is entitled to the uniform of a general/flag officer, with the crest of the office. According to the National Defence Act, the Minister of National Defence is responsible and accountable to parliament for all related to national defence
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Namibian Defence Force
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The Namibian Defence Force was created when South West Africa gained full independence from South Africa in 1990. The constitution of Namibia defines the role of the military as defending the territory, the British formulated the force integration plan and began training the NDF, which consists of five battalions and a small headquarters element. The United Nations Transitional Assistance Group s Kenyan infantry battalion remained in Namibia for three months after independence to assist in training the NDF and stabilize the north. Martin Shalli and Charles Ho Chi Minh Namoloh were involved in the negotiations allowed the Kenyan infantry battalion to remain for that period. Defence spending and percentage of GDP included $90 million in 1997/98,2. 6% of GDP, the 73.1 million figure in 2002 was 2. 4% of GDP. These figures are almost certainly CIA World Factbook estimates, the team, initially 55 strong, was duly deployed on 26 March 1990 and the first leaders cadre, for the 1st and 2nd Battalions, was run from 17 April to 2 June. By 1 July, the 1st Battalion, about 1000 men strong, in addition the Ministry of Defence, a mixture of civilian and military personnel, was operating as a department of state. No-one would pretend that everything was working perfectly, nevertheless, a deal had been achieved in the first year following independence. Integration has not been easy to achieve, at least in part, Battalions are made up of approximately 70% ex-PLAN and 30% ex-SWATF. This mixture could have proved explosive but hounded by their BMATT instructors they united in a common task, at the higher levels, integration has been more patchy, at least in part because of the departure of most white South African and SWATF officers. But the Governments intentions seem clear in that it decided to split the four MOD directorates evenly, in all this, BMATT Namibia has played a role remarkably similar to that of BMATT Zimbabwe. In August 1999, a separatist Lozi faction in the Caprivi Strip launched an attempt which was summarily put down by the Namibian Defence Force. The army has conducted security operations along the border with Angola. In the process of these operations, there were allegations in 2001 that the army has tortured people suspected of being UNITA sympathisers, IRIN reported that the Ministry of Defence had admitted that two Namibian soldiers died fighting suspected UNITA rebels in southern Angola in July 2001. The Namibian Defence Force assists in putting out wildfires, at their meeting, the two sides had in-depth discussions on further strengthening exchanges and cooperation between the two armed forces. Chen was accompanied by the chief of staff of the Second Artillery Corps, chen also met President Pohamba that day. In 2012, NDF officials announced the suspension of its recruitment campaign due to a lack of facilities for new personnel for a two-year period. The suspension how ever did not include the recruitment of specialist personnel as the Namibian Navy in 2013 had a recruitment exercise for sailors, in 2014 Recruitment resumed after accommodation issues were resolved
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SWAPO
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South West Africa Peoples Organization, officially known as SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia. It has been the party in Namibia since achieving independence in 1990. In the general held in November 2014, the party won 86. 73% of the popular vote and 77 out of 96 seats. However, the full name is no longer used, only the acronym remains. As of 2015, Hage Geingob has been the president of SWAPO, after World War I the League of Nations gave South West Africa, formerly a German colony, to the United Kingdom as a mandate under the administration of South Africa. When the National Party won the 1948 election in South Africa and subsequently introduced apartheid legislation and it was considered the de facto fifth province of South Africa. Leaders renamed the party to show that it represented all Namibians, but, the organisation had its base among the Ovambo people of northern Namibia, who constituted nearly half the total population. During 1962 SWAPO had emerged as the dominant nationalist organisation for the Namibian people and it co-opted other groups such as the South West Africa National Union, and later in 1976 the Namibia African Peoples Democratic Organisation. SWAPO used guerrilla tactics to fight the South African Defence Force, on 26 August 1966, the first major clash of the conflict took place, when a unit of the South African Police, supported by the South African Air Force, exchanged fire with SWAPO forces. This date is regarded as the start of what became known in South Africa as the Border War. In 1972 the United Nations General Assembly recognised SWAPO as the legitimate representative of Namibias people. The Norwegian government began giving aid directly to SWAPO in 1974, the country of Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975 following its war for independence. The leftist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, supported by Cuba, in March 1976, the MPLA offered SWAPO bases in Angola for launching attacks against the South African military. When Namibia gained its independence in 1990, SWAPO became the dominant political party and its head Sam Nujoma was elected as Namibias first President. Nujoma had the constitution changed so he could run for a term in 1999. The party continues to be dominated in number and influence by Ovambo people, in 2004 the SWAPO presidential candidate was Hifikepunye Pohamba, described as Nujomas hand-picked successor. In 2014 the SWAPO presidential candidate was Hage Geingob who was the Vice-President of SWAPO, the third highest position in SWAPO is the Secretary-General, a position held in December 2012 by Nangolo Mbumba. Number four is the Deputy Secretary-General, Omaheke Governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua, like many socialist and communist parties, SWAPO is governed by a Politburo and a Central Committee
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Namibian parliamentary election, 1989
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Parliamentary elections were held in Namibia between 7 and 11 November 1989. These elections were for the Constituent Assembly of Namibia, which, upon independence in March 1990, the elections were facilitated by the United Nations, after the withdrawal of South African troops from South West Africa after the 1988 Tripartite Accords. 701,483 people registered to vote, with 680,788 casting votes, following the election, SWAPO supporters celebrated across Windhoek, especially in the segregated suburb of Katutura. Dirk Mudge, chairman of the DTA, pledged to work with the SWAPO government in moving towards independence, support for the DTA and UDF was strong in the former bantustans including Hereroland and Damaraland. Namibian Voters Deny Total Power to SWAPO, by Michael Johns, The Wall Street Journal, November 19,1989
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Hifikepunye Pohamba
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Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba is a Namibian politician who served as the second President of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, the ruling party, Pohamba was the President of SWAPO from 2007 until his retirement in 2015. Pohamba is a recipient of the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership and he was also Secretary-General of SWAPO from 1997 to 2002 and Vice-President of SWAPO from 2002 to 2007. As a child, he completed his education in the Anglican Holy Cross Mission school in Onamunhama. At the age of 25, Pohamba was a member of SWAPO in 1960. He was arrested for his political activity but moved to Southern Rhodesia and he then spent four months in prison in South West Africa before spending two years in Ovamboland under house arrest. In 1964, he went to Lusaka to set up SWAPOs Zambian office, until the achievement of Namibian independence, Pohamba represented SWAPO across Africa, although he studied politics in the Soviet Union for a time in the early 1980s. He was Minister of Home Affairs from March 1990 to 1995, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources from 1995 to 1997 and he was elected as Secretary-General of SWAPO in 1997 and as its Vice-President in 2002. On 26 January 2001, he was appointed Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, under Pohamba as Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, Namibia initiated a policy of partial land expropriation from landed white farmers to landless black ones. This policy was introduced to supplement the one of willing buyer-willing seller to try speed up the process. After becoming President, Pohamba also took over the chancellorship of the University of Namibia from Nujoma in November 2011 and he was active in the Ovamboland Peoples Organization, a national liberation movement that in 1960 transformed into SWAPO. Pohamba was a member of the organisations new incarnation and left his job in the mine to work as a full-time organiser for the group. Pohamba returned several times to South West Africa to work on behalf of SWAPO, Pohamba was selected as SWAPOs candidate for the 2004 presidential election at an extraordinary party congress held in May 2004. In the presidential election, held on 15/16 November 2004, Pohamba won with 76. 44% of the vote, in what has been described as a landslide, but also denounced as flawed by the opposition. He was backed by Nujoma, who was serving his third five-year term. Pohamba took office as president on 21 March 2005 and has distinguished himself by careful. On 29 November 2007, Pohamba was elected as SWAPO President at a party congress, he was the candidate to be nominated. Nujoma said that he was passing the torch and mantle of leadership to comrade Pohamba, the congress also chose Pohamba as the partys only candidate for the 2009 presidential election
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Rally for Democracy and Progress (Namibia)
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The Rally for Democracy and Progress is an opposition political party in Namibia. It was launched on November 172007 under the leadership of Hidipo Hamutenya and Jesaya Nyamu, Hamutenya had unsuccessfully sought the SWAPO nomination for President in 2004. At the time of the RDPs launch, it was considered to represent the strongest challenge to SWAPOs political dominance since the country gained its independence in 1990. Speaking at a SWAPO rally on January 192008, SWAPO Secretary-General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana accused the RDP of spreading lies, in early August 2008, she characterized the RDP as a tribal party targeting the Oukwanyama in the Ohangwena Region. In December 2008, RDP held the partys first national conference, Hamutenya was officially selected as leader of the party. Other parties leaders included Steve Bezuidenhoudt, Jesaya Nyamu and Agnes Limbo, concerning the crises in Zimbabwe, Hamutenya said The Zimbabwe crisis is manmade and that regime should not be allowed to continue. It has led to poverty and hardship, at the 2009 elections, RDP won 11% of the vote and 8 seats in the National Assembly. The partys leader and presidential candidate, Hidipo Hamutenya, won 10. 91% of the vote, RDP and eight other opposition parties disputed the result and filed a case in court to have the results put aside, but the case was denied. The eight members of the National Assembly are, Hidipo Hamutenya, Steve Bezuidenhout, Jesaya Nyamu, Agnes Limbo, Anton von Wietersheim, Kandy Nehova, Peter Naholo and Heiko Lucks. In March 2010, because of the disputed 2009 election, RDP decided to boycott the ceremony of the National Assembly of Namibia. RDP decided to wait until the Supreme Court of Namibia ruled on whether to put aside the election results and it was not until 14 September 2010 that the eight RDP members of the National Assembly were sworn in. On 8 September 2010, RDP began the process of subsuming the Republican Party led by Henk Mudge following a memorandum of understanding agreement on September 8. In the agreement, The Republican Party would begin to phase out as an independent political organization, the parties said they would work together in the November 2010 regional and local elections to unseat the ruling SWAPO party
