Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

 is a one party dominant state with the South-West Africa People's Organisation

South-West Africa People's Organisation

The South West Africa People's Organization is a political party and former liberation movement in Namibia. It has been the governing party in Namibia since achieving independence in 1990...

 in power. Opposition parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. In Namibian politics, ethnicity plays a significant role in party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 affiliation and voting behaviour. Some parties are dominated by single ethnic groups; for example, the Seoposengwe

Seoposengwe Party

The Seoposengwe Party was a political party in Namibia. The party emerged out of the Tshwana Alliance in 1980, and sought to represent the Tshwana community. The party allied itself with the main pro-apartheid party in Namibia, the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance....

 and Ipelegeng

Ipelegeng Democratic Party

The Ipelegeng Democratic Party was a political party in Namibia. It was formed in February 1981 after a split in the Tshwana communal party, Seoposengwe Party. The party was led by Gates Mootseng....

 parties were dominated by Tswana.

The parties

Parties with seats in the National Assembly of Namibia

National Assembly of Namibia

The National Assembly of Namibia is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. It has a total of 78 members. 72 members are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms. Six additional members are appointed by the President.The...

• Congress of Democrats
  Congress of Democrats
  The Congress of Democrats is a political party in Namibia, led by Ben Ulenga. It is an opposition party represented in the National Assembly.The party is an observer of the Socialist International.- 2004 elections :...
  
  
• Democratic Turnhalle Alliance
• Monitor Action Group
  Monitor Action Group
  The Monitor Action Group is a political party in Namibia. The party is based among conservative White Namibians, with most of the top leadership having served in the government of apartheid South West Africa...
  
  
• National Unity Democratic Organisation
  National Unity Democratic Organisation
  The National Unity Democratic Organisation is a political party in Namibia that is based among the Herero. NUDO was part of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance from the Turnhalle Constitutional Conference of the 1970s until it withdrew in September 2003, accusing the DTA of failing to work for...
  
  
• Republican Party
  Republican Party (Namibia)
  The Republican Party was a political party in Namibia, based among the white minority. Henk Mudge is its President and its sole representative in the National Assembly. Prior to the 2004 parliamentary election, the Republican Party was part of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance . It was revived as...
  
  
• South West Africa People's Organisation
• United Democratic Front
  United Democratic Front (Namibia)
  The United Democratic Front is a political party in Namibia. Justus Garoëb is the party's leader.-1989:The UDF received 37,874 votes in the 1989 election, which elected members to the Constituent Assembly of Namibia. The Constituent Assembly elected the first President and wrote Namibia's...
  
  

Parties formed since the 2004 election

• All People's Party
  All People's Party (Namibia)
  The All People's Party is a political party in Namibia.Registered with the Electoral Commission of Namibia in January 2008, the party was initially made up primarily of former members of the Congress of Democrats and SWAPO political parties...
  
  
• Democratic Party of Namibia
  Democratic Party of Namibia
  The Democratic Party of Namibia is a political party in Namibia, launched in July 2008 at Keetmanshoop.Although it constitutes an initiative of the Nama people, the party plans to focus on all ethnic minorities in Namibia. It positions itself in clear opposition to SWAPO, the currently ruling party...
  
  
• Rally for Democracy and Progress
  Rally for Democracy and Progress (Namibia)
  The Rally for Democracy and Progress is an opposition political party in Namibia. It was launched on November 17 2007 under the leadership of Hidipo Hamutenya and Jesaya Nyamu, both former leading members of the ruling SWAPO party and cabinet ministers. Hamutenya had unsuccessfully sought the SWAPO...
  
  

Defunct parties

• Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation
  Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation
  The Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation was a political party in Namibia, based amongst the Damara people. It was founded in 1970.In 1972 NAPDO joined the National Convention ....
  
  

Other notable parties

• South West African National Union – Namibia's oldest existing political party, formed in 1959

For more parties, see Political parties in Namibia and National Assembly of Namibia#Previous National Assembly election results.

See also

• Politics of Namibia
  Politics of Namibia
  Politics of Namibia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Namibia is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in...
  
  
• List of political parties by country