At a glance

Structure of Parliament: Bicameral

Are there legislated quotas...

No for the Single/Lower House?
No for the Upper House?
Yes at the Sub-national level?

Are there voluntary quotas...

No adopted by political parties?

Namibia

(Republic of Namibia)

Single/Lower house

National Assembly

Total seats:	67
Total women:	18
% women:	27%
Election year:	2009
Electoral system:	List PR
Quota type:	No legislated
Election details:	IDEA Voter Turnout IPU Parline

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Last updated 2009-11-26

Quota at the Sub-National Level

Quota type:

Legislated Candidate Quotas

Legal source

Details

Quota type:

Legislated Candidate Quotas

Constitution

In the election of any local authority council with 10 or less members, party lists must include at least ?three female persons?; with 11 or more, at least five (Local Authorities Act, Article 6 [4] [a] [b]).

Legal sanctions for non-compliance:

No data available

Rank order/placement rules:

No data available

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Last updated 2009-11-26

Additional information

The first women?s quota was established in the Local Authorities Act of 1992, where it was stipulated that in the elections of local authority councils with ten of fewer members, there had to be at least two women on party lists. On the lists of parties in elections to councils of eleven or more members, at least three had to be women. In 1997, these figures were increased to three and five, and in 2002 this was established as the system for future elections (Frank 2004, p. 88; LeBeau & Dima 2005., p. 84).

Last updated 2009-11-26

Sources

Frank, Liz (2004), "Working Towards Gender Balance in Elected Positions of Government in Namibia", from The Implementation of Quotas: African Experiences, Julie Ballington (ed.), IDEA Quota Series Report no. 3, Stockholm: International IDEA
LeBeau, Debie & Dima, Edith (2005), Multiparty Democracy and Elections in Namibia, EISA Research Report, no. 13, Auckland Park: EISA
Local Authorities Act, amended 2003

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