Namibia · Windhoek · See the Namibia profile
Since 2013, SWAPO's 50/50 rule alternates male and female candidates on all National Assembly lists. Women's seats rose from 21% (2010) to 50% (2024), placing Namibia sixth globally for women in parliament and first on the African continent after Rwanda.
In 2013, Namibia's ruling party SWAPO amended its constitution to require strict alternation of male and female candidates on all electoral lists (the 'zebra' system) for the National Assembly, Cabinet appointments and internal party structures.
Women held 21% of National Assembly seats in the 2010-2015 term; this rose to 41% after the 2014 election, to an overall House share of 46% by 2019 (52% among SWAPO's own elected MPs), and to 49% (47 of 96 elected seats) after the 2024 election, with five further presidential appointments reaching effective 50/50 parity.
The zebra approach was negotiated within party structures rather than imposed by external law; Zimbabwe and Mozambique have since adopted similar alternating-list mechanisms.
Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
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