BOTSWANA is holding elections today with President Mokgweetsi Masisi being favourite to win a second term against three challengers in a nation his Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has governed since independence from Britain in 1966.

The electorate votes for National Assembly members, who then pick the President to lead the country for the next five years. The four candidates vying for the Presidency have already made their cases during the campaign period and what is left is for the voters to decide.

In her statement issued on Tuesday, Tanzanian President, Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is the chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, said the regional body had “successfully deployed its Observation Mission (SEOM) countrywide for the period between October 14 and November 6 2024, in accordance with the stipulated Principles and Guidelines.”

She said Article 8.3 of the respective Principles and Guidelines mandates SEOM to determine adherence of the Member State holding elections to its relevant provisions.

“In this regard, I urge all eligible voters in the Republic of Botswana to exercise their constitutional rights by turning out to vote peacefully on election day. I also call upon all political actors and their supporters to act responsibly and peacefully during and after the election day,” said President Suluhu Hassan.

Candidates

Mokgweetsi Masisi

President Masisi has been president since 2018 when he assumed power after serving as vice president under predecessor Ian Khama. He retained the presidency when his BDP party won the 2019 election.

A former school teacher who worked for the UN children’s agency, UNICEP, before entering politics, he has fared much better in terms of economic performance compared to his predecessor. Botswana’s economy is heavily dependent on diamonds, which account for around 80 percent of exports, one third of fiscal revenue, one quarter of the GDP. The country is the world’s largest diamond producer, by value.

The declining global demand for diamonds, which Botswana relies on, affected the general performance of the economy but President Masisi is highly accredited for implementing social amenities policies targeted at ordinary citizens.

President Masisi gained the confidence of his people when he last year negotiated a new sales deal with De Beers company that gives the country a bigger share of its diamond wealth.

DUMA BOKO

Mr Duma Boko is a lawyer by profession and is having a go at the highest office as leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), an opposition coalition that came second in 2019 and remains the ruling party’s biggest challenge. Mr Boko is proposing increasing the Government’s role in the economy to attain social development and sustainable growth. Reports that Mr Boko hired a Canadian lobbying firm Dickens and Madison owned by Ari Ben-Menashe on July 10, 2024 to burnish his image abroad and sway American policy in his party’s favour have not endeared him with the Botswana electorate. The election outcome will show the effectiveness or downside of such a move.

DUMELANG SALESHANDO
Mr Dumelang Saleshando is leader of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP). The BCP was founded in 1998 and has won between 10 percent-20 percent of votes in past elections. Saleshando took over from his father in 2010 as BCP party leader. The party describes itself as having social democratic principles and is campaigning with the motto “Save Botswana”.

Mr Saleshando is an economist by profession and has been the Leader of the Botswana Congress Party since 2010. He has been Member of Parliament for Maun West from 2019–2024 and previously served as Gaborone Central MP from 2004–2014. Posting on his Twitter handle two days ago, Mr Saleshando says “Job creation is at the heart of our plan because every Motswana deserves a real shot at a dignified livelihood.”

MEPHATO REATILE

Mr Mephato Reatile is leader of the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), a splinter party created in 2019 by ruling party members who followed former President Ian Khama when he broke away from the BDP because of his feud with President Masisi. Former President Khama, whose father Seretse Khama was Botswana’s founding president, has returned from three years in exile to support the BPF in the election. The party won about 4 percent of votes in 2019. Not much challenge is expected from this party, largely viewed as made up of politically bitter former BDP members.

Electoral System

Botswana is a country of about 582 000 square kilometres in size, situated at the centre of the Southern African plateau at a mean altitude of 1 000 metres above sea level. Formerly Bechuanaland Protectorate, it borders South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Since independence in 1966, Botswana has adopted her own Constitution and electoral laws similar to those of Britain at the time. Its electoral system is based on the first-the-post (FPTP) electoral system. The system creates single party cabinets which run the government. Elections in Botswana take place at national and local levels. The country is a multi-party democracy with the ruling BDP having a significant majority since independence.

The National Assembly and Local Councils are elected when General Elected when elections are held. The last general elections were held on 23 October 2019.

Despite a high profile split of the ruling BP in May 2019 when former President Khama switched support to the new Botswana Patriotic Front, the BDP’s vote share increased to almost 53 percent as the party won 38 of the 57 elected seats in the National Assembly, a gain compared on the previous elections in 2014. The elections were the 12th straight victory for the BDP.

Botswana’s parliament has 61 seats, of which 57 are elected using a single-member district plurality system, meaning there are 57 constituencies, each electing a single member of parliament for a five-year term; four more seats are reserved for specially nominated members. The local council has 490 seats and 113 for specially nominated councillors.