The Electoral Commission of Namibia was established by the now repealed Electoral Act 24 of 1992 (Electoral Act, 1992, 3-12). Following an extensive Electoral Review process, a new Electoral Act, 2014 (Act No. 5 of 2014) was promulgated. The Act was gazetted on 8 October and became operational on 17 October 2014. Elections were previously conducted under the Electoral Act, No. 24 of 1992.

The Electoral Act of 2014 (Act No. 5 of 2014) mandates the Electoral Commission of Namibia to organise, direct, supervise, manage and control the conduct of elections and referenda in a free, fair, independent, credible, transparent and impartial manner. It further obliges the ECN to strengthen constitutional democracy and to promote democratic electoral and referenda processes.