| Background color |
|
|---|---|
| Legislature | 7th National Council |
| Body | Parliament of Namibia |
| Foundation | 23 February 1993[1] |
| Chairperson | Lukas Sinimbo Muha |
| Party 1 | SWAPO |
| Election 1 | 15 December 2020[2] |
| Deputy Chairperson | Victoria Kauma |
| Party 2 | SWAPO |
| Election 2 | 9 December 2019 |
| Members | 42 |
| Term length | 5 years |
| Structure 1 | National Council Namibia 2026.svg |
| Structure1 res | 250px |
| Political groups 1 | Government (39) Official opposition (2) Other parties (1) |
| Voting system 1 | Indirect election by Regional Councils |
| Last election 1 | 26 November 2025 |
| Session room | National Council Namibia.jpg |
| Meeting place | National Council Building, Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia |
| Website | Parliament of 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.[3]
The 42 National Council members are indirectly elected by regional councils for a term of five years.[4] Each of the 14 regional councils chooses three of its members to serve on the National Council.[5] The last regional council elections were held on 26 November 2025.
Political party distribution in the current National Council is as follows:[6]
- South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) - 39 seats
- Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) - 2 seats
- United Democratic Front (UDF) - 1 seat
The National Council meets in the capital Windhoek in the National Council Building next to the Tintenpalast. The chairperson as of December 2020 is Lukas Muha.
Election results
[citation needed]
| Political Party | Election Year | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1998 | 2004 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 | ||
| South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) | 19 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 40 | 28 | 39 | |
| Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| United Democratic Front (UDF) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | |
| National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | |
| Landless People's Movement (LPM) | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | |
| Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | |
| Independent | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | |
| Total | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 42 | 42 | 42 | |
See also
- 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
References
- ^ "National Council". Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ Iileka, Sakeus (16 December 2020). "MPs urged to finalise constituency fund bill". The Namibian. p. 3. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ^ "History". www.parliament.na. Archived from the original on 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
- ^ "Namibia". New Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform (beta). July 5, 2018.[dead link]
- ^ Quadri, Maryam Omolara & Thomas, Erika K (2018). "Women and political participation in Namibia and Nigeria: a comparative analysis of women in elective positions". Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences. 7 (2): 6–9. University of Namibia. ISSN 2026-7215
- ^ Iikela, Sakeus (14 December 2020). "First independent to serve as MP". The Namibian. p. 3.