Electoral system for national legislature
Namibia
Article 49
Elections
The election of members in terms of Article 46(1)(a) hereof shall be on party lists and in accordance with the principles of proportional representation as set out in Schedule 4 hereof.
Namibia uses the closed-list proportional representation system, with the whole country constituting a single district returning 72 members of parliament. The adoption of a PR system came under the instigation of the United Nations, who urged a fair and non-racial electoral system after the protracted armed conflict in 1990. Though the ruling incumbency at that point of time (SWAPO) expressed preferences for the first-past-the-post system, they gave in on the issue of PR as a concession to minority parties.
Seats are allocated by the Hare method.
