Namibia held elections for its local and regional councils on 27 November 2015. Ballots were cast using electronic voting.
Electoral system Elections to regional councils in Namibia are held using the first-past-the-post electoral system. Voters in each constituency elect one councillor to represent them on their regional council. Local authority councillors are elected by a system of proportional representation.
Results Regional and local elections taken together elected 199 women out of the 499 available seats, partly because affirmative action for women is required by law in local authority elections.
Regional elections There were 121 constituency councillors to be elected. Each of them represented their constituency in the respective regional council. The regional councils in turn selected 3 representatives each to serve in the National Council.
In 28 constituencies, SWAPO was announced as the winner in October because no other party nominated a candidate.
PartySeatsChangeSouth West Africa People's Organization 112National Unity Democratic Organisation 4Popular Democratic Movement 2United Democratic Front 1United People's Movement 1Independent politicians 1Total 121
Local election Local elections determine the population of the village, town, and city councils and have a direct influence on who will become mayor, as this position is elected among all councillors. Contrary to the regional elections, local elections in Namibia are determined by party, not by individual. There are 57 local authorities to be elected. In five of them (Okahao, Omuthiyagwiipundi, Oniipa, Outapi and Tsandi) SWAPO was announced as winner in October because no opposition party nominated a candidate.
PartySeatsChangeSouth West Africa People's Organization 277Popular Democratic Movement 41United Democratic Front 21Rally for Democracy and Progress 16National Unity Democratic Organisation 11All People's Party 4United People's Movement 3Civic Association of Henties Bay 1Karibib Ratepayers Association 1Swakopmund Residents Association 1Congress of Democrats 1Rundu Concerned Citizens Association 1Total 378
References