Constitution of Namibia

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The Constitution of Namibia is the supreme law of the south-west African state of Namibia . This was approved by the Constituent Assembly ( English Constituent Assembly drafted and) by the end of 1989 adopted unanimously on November 9, 1990th They define Namibia as a “sovereign, secular, democratic and unitary state, based on the principles of democracy, the rule of law and justice for all”.

construction

The constitution provides for a classic division of powers into legislative , executive and judicial branches .

According to the constitution, the executive power lies with the president and his cabinet. The legislative power rests with the parliament. This is divided into the National Assembly and the National Council . Judicial power lies with the Supreme Court , the High Court and the Lower Courts , with the courts acting independently and subject only to the law.

The Constitution is divided into 21 chapters ( Chapter divided) with a total of 148 items.

Constitutional amendment

The Constitution of Namibia can be changed based on Chapter 19 of the Constitution. According to Article 1, the amendment of fundamental and human rights (Chapter 3) is inadmissible. According to Article 132, a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament, i.e. the National Assembly and the National Council. If there is no such majority in the National Council, the President can call a referendum . A two-thirds majority is also required here.

First change

In the course of the presidency of Sam Nujoma in 1998 a constitutional amendment was implemented, which allowed this president a third term of office. Originally the time limit was supposed to be removed from the constitution entirely, but a compromise was found with a view to Namibia's reputation in the international community. Since Nujoma had assumed the office as chairman of the Constituent Assembly without a direct election by the people, as provided for in the constitution, he was allowed a second direct candidacy.

Second change

The second amendment to the Namibian constitution was passed in 2010. Among other things, the Namibian nationality law was adapted.

Third change

On October 13, 2014, the most far-reaching reform of the political system since Namibia's independence took place after weeks of controversial discussion. The most important changes were decided:

  • Increase in elected parliamentary seats to 96 (previously 72)
  • Increase in the number of MPs appointed by the President to eight (previously six)
  • thereby increasing the total number of MPs in parliament from 78 to 104
  • Increase in the number of seats in the National Council from currently two seats per region to three seats; thus instead of 26 seats (13 regions) in future 42 seats (14 regions)
  • Introduction of the position of Vice President

The introduction of a threshold clause of five percent was initially planned, but was rejected by the Prime Minister as well as voting rights for the members of parliament appointed by the President.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Country information portal Namibia. (No longer available online.) In: InWEnt . Archived from the original on June 30, 2009 ; Retrieved May 19, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / liportal.inwent.org
  2. ^ Namibian Constitution First Amendment Act. Government of the Republic of Namibia, 1998, No. 34, 2014
  3. ^ Namibian Constitution Second Amendment Act. Government of the Republic of Namibia, 2010, No. 7, 4480
  4. ↑ Election shocker. Informanté, July 3, 2014 ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 4, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.informante.web.na
  5. ↑ Constitutional amendment ment finally gazetted. New Era, October 15, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014