diff --git a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/clusterrole.yaml b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/clusterrole.yaml
index 395bb0bb2f..d2e12e7c9e 100644
--- a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/clusterrole.yaml
+++ b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/clusterrole.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
 kind: ClusterRole
 metadata:
   creationTimestamp: null
-  name: retina-operator-role
+  name: retina-operator-clusterrole
 rules:
   - apiGroups:
       - "apiextensions.k8s.io"
@@ -100,19 +100,4 @@ rules:
     - get
     - list
     - watch
-  # For cilium-operator running in HA mode.
-  #
-  # Cilium operator running in HA mode requires the use of ResourceLock for Leader Election
-  # between multiple running instances.
-  # The preferred way of doing this is to use LeasesResourceLock as edits to Leases are less
-  # common and fewer objects in the cluster watch "all Leases".
-  - apiGroups:
-    - coordination.k8s.io
-    resources:
-    - leases
-    verbs:
-    - create
-    - get
-    - update
-
 {{- end -}}
diff --git a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/clusterrolebinding.yaml b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/clusterrolebinding.yaml
index 3138f41fbf..a67b2a1c99 100644
--- a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/clusterrolebinding.yaml
+++ b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/clusterrolebinding.yaml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ metadata:
 roleRef:
   apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
   kind: ClusterRole
-  name: retina-operator-role
+  name: retina-operator-clusterrole
 subjects:
 - kind: ServiceAccount
   name: retina-operator
diff --git a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/deployment.yaml b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/deployment.yaml
index e44a535c81..e74dad4915 100644
--- a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/deployment.yaml
+++ b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/deployment.yaml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ spec:
   selector:
     matchLabels:
       control-plane: retina-operator
-  replicas: 1
+  replicas: {{ .Values.operator.replicas }}
   template:
     metadata:
       annotations:
@@ -56,16 +56,22 @@ spec:
           {{- end }}
           {{ else }}
           command:
-            - /retina-operator  
+            - /retina-operator
           {{- end }}
           {{- if .Values.operator.container.args}}
           args:
           {{- range $.Values.operator.container.args}}
           - {{ . | quote }}
           {{- end}}
-          {{ else }}
+          {{- if $.Values.operator.leaderElectionNamespace }}
+          - --leader-election-namespace={{ $.Values.operator.leaderElectionNamespace }}
+          {{- end }}
+          {{- else }}
           args:
             - --config-dir=/retina
+            {{- if .Values.operator.leaderElectionNamespace }}
+            - --leader-election-namespace={{ .Values.operator.leaderElectionNamespace }}
+            {{- end }}
           {{- end}}
           env:
           # this env var is used by retina OSS telemetry and zap
diff --git a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/role.yaml b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/role.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..00a7f29638
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/role.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+{{- if .Values.operator.enabled -}}
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: Role
+metadata:
+  name: retina-operator-role
+  namespace: {{ .Values.operator.leaderElectionNamespace | default .Release.Namespace }}
+rules:
+  # For cilium-operator running in HA mode.
+  #
+  # Cilium operator running in HA mode requires the use of ResourceLock for Leader Election
+  # between multiple running instances.
+  # The preferred way of doing this is to use LeasesResourceLock as edits to Leases are less
+  # common and fewer objects in the cluster watch "all Leases".
+  - apiGroups:
+    - coordination.k8s.io
+    resources:
+    - leases
+    verbs:
+    - create
+    - get
+    - update
+
+{{- end -}}
diff --git a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/rolebinding.yaml b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/rolebinding.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..20eabf431a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/templates/operator/rolebinding.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+{{- if .Values.operator.enabled -}}
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: RoleBinding
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: rolebinding
+    app.kubernetes.io/instance: retina-operator-rolebinding
+    app.kubernetes.io/component: rbac
+    app.kubernetes.io/created-by: operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
+  name: retina-operator-rolebinding
+  namespace: {{ .Values.operator.leaderElectionNamespace | default .Release.Namespace }}
+roleRef:
+  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
+  kind: Role
+  name: retina-operator-role
+subjects:
+- kind: ServiceAccount
+  name: retina-operator
+  namespace: {{ .Release.Namespace }}
+
+{{- end -}}
diff --git a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/values.yaml b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/values.yaml
index 0967106ab8..91d7fb787c 100644
--- a/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/values.yaml
+++ b/deploy/hubble/manifests/controller/helm/retina/values.yaml
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ os:
 # FIXME: remove unnecessary pieces, etc.
 operator:
   enabled: true
+  replicas: 1
   repository: acndev.azurecr.io/retina-operator
   pullPolicy: Always
   tag: "latest"
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ operator:
   # -- Node tolerations for pod assignment on nodes with taints
   # ref: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/scheduling-eviction/taint-and-toleration/
   tolerations: []
+  leaderElectionNamespace: ""
 
 agent:
   leaderElection: false
diff --git a/operator/cilium-crds/config/config_linux.go b/operator/cilium-crds/config/config_linux.go
index bb73d7aff4..a9298e3fc5 100644
--- a/operator/cilium-crds/config/config_linux.go
+++ b/operator/cilium-crds/config/config_linux.go
@@ -8,19 +8,22 @@ import (
 )
 
 type Config struct {
-	EnableTelemetry bool
-	LeaderElection  bool
+	EnableTelemetry         bool
+	LeaderElection          bool
+	LeaderElectionNamespace string
 }
 
 func (c Config) Flags(flags *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	flags.Bool("enable-telemetry", c.EnableTelemetry, "enable telemetry (send logs and metrics to a remote server)")
 	flags.Bool("leader-election", c.LeaderElection, "Enable leader election for operator. Ensures there is only one active operator Pod")
+	flags.String("leader-election-namespace", c.LeaderElectionNamespace, "Namespace for the leader election lease. Auto-detected from the service account token when empty.")
 }
 
 var (
 	DefaultConfig = Config{
-		EnableTelemetry: false,
-		LeaderElection:  false,
+		EnableTelemetry:         false,
+		LeaderElection:          false,
+		LeaderElectionNamespace: "",
 	}
 
 	Cell = cell.Module(
diff --git a/operator/cmd/cilium-crds/cells_linux.go b/operator/cmd/cilium-crds/cells_linux.go
index 4339a1b8ee..957fa7f5a1 100644
--- a/operator/cmd/cilium-crds/cells_linux.go
+++ b/operator/cmd/cilium-crds/cells_linux.go
@@ -8,8 +8,11 @@ package ciliumcrds
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
 	"sync/atomic"
 
 	"github.com/microsoft/retina/internal/buildinfo"
@@ -42,7 +45,27 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cilium/statedb"
 )
 
-const operatorK8sNamespace = "kube-system"
+const (
+	serviceAccountNamespaceFile = "/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/namespace"
+	errMsgNamespaceFileEmpty    = "--leader-election-namespace not set and " + serviceAccountNamespaceFile + " was empty"
+)
+
+var errNamespaceFileEmpty = errors.New(errMsgNamespaceFileEmpty)
+
+// resolveNamespace returns the namespace the operator should use for leader election.
+func resolveNamespace(override string) (string, error) {
+	if override != "" {
+		return override, nil
+	}
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(serviceAccountNamespaceFile)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("--leader-election-namespace not set and could not read %s: %w", serviceAccountNamespaceFile, err)
+	}
+	if ns := strings.TrimSpace(string(data)); ns != "" {
+		return ns, nil
+	}
+	return "", errNamespaceFileEmpty
+}
 
 var (
 	Operator = cell.Module(
diff --git a/operator/cmd/cilium-crds/root_linux.go b/operator/cmd/cilium-crds/root_linux.go
index 7cbc570d5c..e0ef9fa8ed 100644
--- a/operator/cmd/cilium-crds/root_linux.go
+++ b/operator/cmd/cilium-crds/root_linux.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cilium/cilium/pkg/option"
 	"github.com/cilium/hive/cell"
 	"github.com/microsoft/retina/internal/buildinfo"
+	"github.com/microsoft/retina/operator/cilium-crds/config"
 	"github.com/microsoft/retina/pkg/log"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
@@ -64,13 +65,19 @@ func Execute(h *hive.Hive) {
 func registerOperatorHooks(
 	l *slog.Logger, lc cell.Lifecycle, llc *LeaderLifecycle,
 	clientset k8sClient.Clientset, shutdowner hive.Shutdowner,
-) {
+	cfg config.Config,
+) error {
+	leaderElectionNamespace, err := resolveNamespace(cfg.LeaderElectionNamespace)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to determine operator namespace: %w", err)
+	}
+	l.Info("using namespace for leader election lease", "namespace", leaderElectionNamespace)
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	lc.Append(cell.Hook{
 		OnStart: func(cell.HookContext) error {
 			wg.Add(1)
 			go func() {
-				runOperator(l, llc, clientset, shutdowner)
+				runOperator(l, llc, clientset, shutdowner, leaderElectionNamespace)
 				wg.Done()
 			}()
 			return nil
@@ -84,6 +91,7 @@ func registerOperatorHooks(
 			return nil
 		},
 	})
+	return nil
 }
 
 func initEnv(vp *viper.Viper) {
@@ -134,7 +142,7 @@ func doCleanup() {
 // runOperator implements the logic of leader election for cilium-operator using
 // built-in leader election capability in kubernetes.
 // See: https://github.com/kubernetes/client-go/blob/master/examples/leader-election/main.go
-func runOperator(l *slog.Logger, lc *LeaderLifecycle, clientset k8sClient.Clientset, shutdowner hive.Shutdowner) {
+func runOperator(l *slog.Logger, lc *LeaderLifecycle, clientset k8sClient.Clientset, shutdowner hive.Shutdowner, leaderElectionNamespace string) {
 	isLeader.Store(false)
 
 	leaderElectionCtx, leaderElectionCtxCancel = context.WithCancel(context.Background())
@@ -152,7 +160,7 @@ func runOperator(l *slog.Logger, lc *LeaderLifecycle, clientset k8sClient.Client
 
 	leResourceLock, err := resourcelock.NewFromKubeconfig(
 		resourcelock.LeasesResourceLock,
-		operatorK8sNamespace,
+		leaderElectionNamespace,
 		leaderElectionResourceLockName,
 		resourcelock.ResourceLockConfig{
 			// Identity name of the lock holder