Namibia Country Report

Namibia gained its independence from apartheid South Africa on 21 March, 1990, after a long and protracted liberation struggle. In terms of United Nations Resolution 435, under a United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG), an internationally-supervised election (using the Proportional Representation [PR] system) for a Constituent Assembly took place in December 1989. This process produced a multi-party legislative body, tasked with drafting the supreme law for the new nation. The drafters rapidly produced a Constitution lauded for its vision and strongly-anchored basic freedoms and human rights. Eschewing further expenses and delays, the Constituent Assembly transformed itself into the nascent democracy’s first National Assembly (NA), consisting of 72 elected and six appointed Members of Parliament.