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40 of the 44 seats in the National Assembly 21 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 459,663 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 77.11% ( 0.74pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in Botswana on 16 October 1999, alongside local elections. The result was an eighth straight victory for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which increased its majority to 33 of the 40 elected seats in the National Assembly.
A referendum on electoral reform in 1997 had led to the creation of a new Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18, and allowing overseas citizens to vote. [1]
Prior to the elections, the National Assembly was dissolved in late July 1999. [2] Because fewer than half of the roughly 800,000 eligible voters had registered, it was decided in late July to introduce supplementary voter registration. [3] On 27 August it was reported that President Festus Mogae had set the election date for 16 October. [4] However, announcing the date invalidated the supplementary voter registration [3] because the names of the recently registered voters had not yet been published for inspection. [5] As a result, Mogae declared a state of emergency so that the National Assembly could meet again to amend legislation in order to allow the addition of about 60,000 people to the voters roll; this was the first time a state of emergency had been declared since Botswana became independent. A spokesman for the Botswana Electoral Commission described the situation as "very normal" and said that the election date would not be changed. The opposition Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) were critical, however, with the former's Lepetu Setshwaelo describing it as "the biggest scandal since our independence" and calling the government "totally incompetent". The BCP said that the state of emergency was unnecessary. [3]
The main opposition party, the Botswana National Front (BNF) split in mid-1998 after party leader Kenneth Koma was suspended by the party's central committee, and then had the suspension overturned by a court ruling. After Koma returned to the party leadership, he formed a caretaker committee to remove the members who had opposed him. The excluded members subsequently left to form the BCP, which included 11 of the BNF's 13 MPs and most of its local councillors. [6] As a result, BCP leader Michael Dingake replaced Koma as Leader of the Opposition. [6]
Following talks that began in late 1998, the BNF, the United Action Party and five other opposition parties agreed to form the BAM in January 1999. However, the BNF had left the alliance by the end of April 1999 after the other parties refused to allow the BNF to determine the Alliance's candidates in every constituency. [6]
The election campaign was low-key, and focussed on poverty, unemployment, wealth distribution and the country's AIDS epidemic. The BDP campaigned on a promise of prudent financial management, industrial diversification and efforts to combat the AIDS problem. The BNF criticised the government's economic policy, claiming it was too focussed on urban areas. The BCP claimed the government was too complacent, having been in power since the mid-1960s. [7]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana Democratic Party | 192,598 | 57.15 | 33 | +6 | |
| Botswana National Front | 87,457 | 25.95 | 6 | –7 | |
| Botswana Congress Party | 40,096 | 11.90 | 1 | +1 | |
| Botswana Alliance Movement | 15,806 | 4.69 | 0 | New | |
| MELS Movement of Botswana | 22 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
| Independents | 1,004 | 0.30 | 0 | New | |
| Indirectly-elected seats | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 336,983 | 100.00 | 44 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 336,983 | 95.07 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 17,483 | 4.93 | |||
| Total votes | 354,466 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 459,663 | 77.11 | |||
| Source: EISA | |||||
Following the elections, the National Assembly re-elected Mogae as President on 20 October. [7]
Botswana is a parliamentary republic in which the President of Botswana is both head of state and head of government. The nation's politics are based heavily on British parliamentary politics and on traditional Batswana chiefdom. The legislature is made up of the unicameral National Assembly and the advisory body of tribal chiefs, the Ntlo ya Dikgosi. The National Assembly chooses the president, but once in office the president has significant authority over the legislature with only limited separation of powers.
The Botswana Democratic Party is a political party in Botswana. It was the ruling party of Botswana for 58 years, from independence in 1966 until the 2024 general election. Its chairman is Slumber Tsogwane and its symbol is a lift jack. The BDP is sometimes classified as a paternalistic conservative party, but it is also a consultative member of the Socialist International, a worldwide alliance of social-democratic parties. The BDP was shaped primarily by two of its founders, Seretse Khama and Quett Ketumile Masire. Traditional Setswana communities make up the party's base, which has led the BDP to remain a conservative movement.
The Botswana National Front (BNF) is a social democratic political party in Botswana. It was the main opposition party in Botswana from the 1969 elections until the 2024 elections.
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Margaret Nnananyana Nasha is a Botswana politician who served as the Speaker of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2014. She was the first woman to hold the position.
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General and local elections were held in Botswana on 24 October 2014. The result was an eleventh straight victory for the Botswana Democratic Party, which won 37 of the 57 elected seats. Incumbent President Ian Khama was sworn in for a second term on 28 October.
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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.
Okavango was a constituency in the North-West District.
Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe is a Motswana economist and politician, currently serving as Vice-President of Botswana since 7 November 2024, under President Duma Boko. Gaolathe is the leader of the Alliance for Progressives, one of the parties within the ruling coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). He is also an elected member of the National Assembly of Botswana for the Gaborone Bonnington South constituency since the 2024 elections, a position he previously held from 2014 to 2019.
