Gender balance prospects are not good

Currently 32 percent of elected National Assembly MPs are women (23 out of the 72 MPs). The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is committed to having 50 percent women’s representation in national parliaments by 2015. The prospects for achieving this in Namibia are not good.
On the Swapo party list for the upcoming election there are a total of 23 women out of 72 candidates. However, of these only 13 candidates appear in the top fifty of the list and have the most chance of being elected. Of the opposition parties, the Congress of Democrats has the most women candidates in its top ten (five). The UDF has four, the DTA and Nudo 3 each, APP and RDP 2, and MAG none at all. The CoD is the only party that used the ‘zebra system’ – naming alternate male and female candidates on its list.
At present it looks like the National Assembly will struggle to achieve 30 percent female representation after March 21 next year (when the new MPs will be sworn in). Even if President Hifikepunye Pohamba uses his six picks for non-voting members to boost the level of women’s representation, it will not bring Namibia anywhere near the SADC target of 50 percent by 2015.