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57 of the 63 seats in the National Assembly 29 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 76.71% ( 0.92pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Constitution |
General elections were held in Botswana on 16 October 2009, alongside local elections, with early voting in 26 polling stations abroad taking place 3 October. [1] The result was a tenth successive victory for the Botswana Democratic Party, which won 45 of the 57 elected seats in the National Assembly.
The 57 directly-elected members of the National Assembly were elected in single-member constituencies. A further four members were elected from a list nominated by the President, whilst the President and Attorney General became ex officio members. [2]
The ruling BDP was suffering from internal problems leading up to the election, with President Ian Khama threatening to expel party leader and former cabinet minister Daniel Kwelagobe, who also led the rival Barata-Phathi faction within the BDP. Although Khama and Kwelagobe eventually reconciled, stability within the BDP remained in question. [3] The BDP campaign focused on its record in government, including education, training and economic development. [4]
Botswana National Front leader Otsweletse Moupo did not contest the elections after losing the party's primary elections for his Gaborone West North seat. It was speculated that he would stand for election in Gaborone South, but Moupo ultimately declined to run. The BNF campaign centred around creating a strong civil society and improving social welfare and housing. [4]
The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) formed an electoral alliance and supported each other's candidates. BCP leader Gilson Saleshando stood for election in Selebi-Phikwe West, a constituency held prior to the election by BDP candidate Kavis Kario. The alliance's campaign included a pledge to stop the economic downturn. [4]
The Botswana People's Party (BPP) campaign focused on agricultural development and manufacturing, whilst the MELS Movement of Botswana (MELS) promised to fight the exploitation of the population. [4]
A total of 177 candidates contested the elections; 57 from the BDP, 48 from the BNF, 46 from the BCP-BAM alliance (42 from the BCP and 4 from the BAM), 6 from the BPP, 4 from MELS, one from the Botswana Tlhoko Tiro Organisation and 15 independents. [5]
Very few scientific opinion polls were taken prior to the election, preventing accurate measures of public sentiment.
| Date | Institute | BDP | BNF | BCP | Other/none |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sept – 16 Oct 2008 | University of Botswana Faculty / Afrobarometer | 63% | 13% | 8% | 10% |
Early voting was planned for police and polling officers on 29 September, as they would be unable to vote on election day. However, because of a printing error at the Johannesburg-based printer that was responsible for printing the ballot papers, early voting could not proceed as planned; ballot numbers, which should be unique to counter election fraud, were sometimes repeated on the ballots for local elections. As a result Police officers and polling officers had to vote on 16 October, along with the general public. For officers stationed far away from the place they are registered to vote, this presented serious problems. [6] The BCP threatened legal action against the Independent Electoral Commission. [1]
Election turnout was reported to be high with polling station opening times being extending to cope with large queues. [7] Election observers stated that the overall process ran smoothly, although in some instance people had been unable to vote. [7] The Southern African Development Community noted that the elections were "credible, peaceful, free and fair", but raised concerns about the "slow polling process". [4]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana Democratic Party | 290,099 | 53.26 | 45 | +1 | |
| Botswana National Front | 119,509 | 21.94 | 6 | –6 | |
| Botswana Congress Party | 104,302 | 19.15 | 4 | +3 | |
| Botswana Alliance Movement | 12,387 | 2.27 | 1 | +1 | |
| Botswana People's Party | 7,554 | 1.39 | 0 | 0 | |
| MELS Movement of Botswana | 292 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tlhoko Tiro Organisation | 40 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
| Independents | 10,464 | 1.92 | 1 | +1 | |
| Indirectly-elected seats | 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 544,647 | 100.00 | 63 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 544,647 | 98.12 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 10,431 | 1.88 | |||
| Total votes | 555,078 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 723,617 | 76.71 | |||
| Source: EISA | |||||
Nehemiah Modubule, MP for Lobatse, won re-election running as an independent, having been elected in 2004 as a BNF candidate.
The BDP held a victory rally in Gaborone on 18 October, and [8] President Khama was sworn in for his first full term on 20 October. [4]
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 (BDP) rules as a dominant party; while elections in Botswana are considered free and fair by observers, the BDP has controlled the National Assembly since independence. Political opposition in Botswana often exists between factions in the BDP rather than through separate parties, though several opposition parties exist and regularly hold a small number of seats in the National Assembly.
The Botswana Democratic Party is the governing party in Botswana. Its chairman is the Vice-President of Botswana, Slumber Tsogwane, and its symbol is a lift jack. The party has ruled Botswana continuously since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. The BDP is sometimes classified as a paternalistic conservative party and is also a consultative member of the Socialist International since 2014, which is a group including many worldwide social-democratic parties.
The Botswana National Front (BNF) is a social democratic political party in Botswana. It has been the main opposition party in Botswana since the 1969 elections.
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The MELS Movement of Botswana is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in Botswana without parliamentary representation. Themba Joina, a practicing lawyer, is the president of the organization. The name MELS is derived from (Karl) Marx, (Friedrich) Engels, (Vladimir) Lenin and (Joseph) Stalin.
The National Assembly is the sole legislative body of Botswana's unicameral Parliament, of which consists of the President and the National Assembly. The House passes laws, provides ministers to form Cabinet, and supervises the work of government. It is also responsible for adopting the country's budgets. It is advised by the Ntlo ya Dikgosi, a council of tribal chiefs which is not a house of Parliament.
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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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Gladys Keitumetse Theresa Kokorwe is a Botswana politician who was the Speaker of the National Assembly from 2014 to 2019. She is a member of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).
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General elections were held in Botswana on 23 October 2019 to elect MPs and local government councillors. Despite a high profile split in the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in May 2019 when former President Ian Khama left the party and switched his support to the new Botswana Patriotic Front, the BDP's vote share increased to almost 53% as the party won 38 of the 57 elected seats in the National Assembly, a gain of one compared to the 2014 elections. The elections were the twelfth straight victory for the BDP.
General elections will be held in Botswana in 2024 to determine the composition of the 13th Parliament of Botswana as well as local councils across the country. Up for election are 61 seats of the unicameral National Assembly as well as 490 local council seats, all elected through the first-past-the-post voting system. Ever since the first election in 1965, the Botswana Democratic Party has held a majority of seats in the National Assembly and thus governed alone for 57 years without interruption, making Botswana a dominant-party system.
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