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34 of the 38 seats in the National Assembly 18 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 367,069 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in Botswana on 7 October 1989, alongside local elections. [1] The result was the sixth straight landslide victory for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which won 31 of the 34 elected seats. [2]
As of the 2019 general elections, this is the last time the BDP received more than the 60% of the popular vote.
A referendum on electoral reform had been held in 1987, and resulted in the creation of a Supervisor of Elections, which would be appointed by the government. Both the BDP and the Botswana National Front (BNF) hold primary elections to select candidates. [3]
The BNF went into the elections suffering from instability; Bathoen Gaseitsiwe resigned as party leader in 1985 after becoming head of the Customary Court of Appeal. Prior to the elections Bathoen criticised new party leader Kenneth Koma for his left-wing policies, resigned from the BNF and established the Botswana Freedom Party (BFP). The new BFP ran as a nationalist and pro-free market party. [3] The ruling BDP campaigned on its record in government around economic development and political stability. [1]
A total of 91 candidates contested the elections, with the BDP being the only party to field a full slate of 34 candidates. The BNF put forward 31 candidates, the Botswana People's Party 11, the Botswana Independence Party 9, the Botswana Freedom Party 2 and the Botswana Progressive Union and Botswana Liberal Party both had a single candidate. [3]
The Botswana People's Party (BPP) lost its sole seat and would not regain parliamentary representation until the 2024 elections.
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana Democratic Party | 162,277 | 64.78 | 31 | +2 | |
| Botswana National Front | 67,513 | 26.95 | 3 | –1 | |
| Botswana People's Party | 10,891 | 4.35 | 0 | –1 | |
| Botswana Independence Party | 6,209 | 2.48 | 0 | 0 | |
| Botswana Progressive Union | 2,186 | 0.87 | 0 | 0 | |
| Botswana Freedom Party | 1,363 | 0.54 | 0 | New | |
| Botswana Liberal Party | 48 | 0.02 | 0 | New | |
| Indirectly-elected members | 4 | – | |||
| Total | 250,487 | 100.00 | 38 | 0 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 367,069 | – | |||
| Source: IPU, Nohlen et al. | |||||
Following the elections, the BNF claimed that there had been irregularities in the Mochudi constituency, where they lost to the BDP by 29 votes. The High Court ruled in the BNF's favour, resulting in a by-election in June 1990 in which the BDP retained the seat. [3]
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Bathoen Seepapitso Gaseitsiwe also known as Bathoen II was a Motswana Kgosi, jurist and politician who served as Chief of the Bangwaketse from 1928 to 1969. He served as Chairman of the Botswana National Front (BNF) from 1966 to 1985, Leader of the Opposition from 1969 to 1984 and President of the Court of Appeal from 1985 until his death in 1990. He represented the Kanye South constituency in the National Assembly for three consecutive terms. As the leader of the BNF, the then second largest political party in the country, he was the main opponent of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government, led by Seretse Khama and Quett Masire, during the first two decades of the African country's independence.
Gaobamong Kenneth Shololo Koma, popularly known as KK, was a Motswana intellectual and politician who served as the president of the Botswana National Front (BNF), the main opposition party from 1977 to 2001. He also served as a member of the National Assembly of Botswana, representing the Gaborone South constituency from 1984 to 2004 and held the position of Leader of the Opposition from 1984 to 2003. Alongside Bathoen Gaseitsiwe and Philip Matante, he is considered one of the primary opposition leaders during the first three decades of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government's existence.
