2019 Botswana general election

2019 Botswana general election

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57 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly 29 seats needed for a majority
Registered	925,478
Turnout	84.15% ( 0.65pp)
First party Second party   Leader Mokgweetsi Masisi Duma Boko Party BDP UDC Leader's seat None [a] Gaborone Bonnington North (defeated) Last election 46.45%, 37 seats 30.01%, 17 seats Seats won 38 15 Seat change 1 3 [b] Popular vote 406,561 277,071 Percentage 52.65% 35.88% Swing 6.20pp 5.87pp   Third party Fourth party   BPF Leader Biggie Butale Ndaba Gaolathe Party BPF AP Leader's seat Tati West (defeated) Gaborone Bonnington South (defeated) Last election – – Seats won 3 1 Seat change New New Popular vote 34,068 39,561 Percentage 4.41% 5.12% Swing New New
Winning party shaded by vote share in each constituency
President before election Mokgweetsi Masisi BDP Elected President Mokgweetsi Masisi BDP

General elections were held in Botswana on 23 October 2019 to elect MPs and local government councillors. ^[1] 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 and the last straight victory for the BDP.

Background

Following the 2014 elections, there were two opposing factions in parliament: the Umbrella for Democratic Change (an alliance of the Botswana National Front, the Botswana Movement for Democracy and the Botswana People's Party), and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP). In February 2017, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) also joined the Umbrella for Democratic Change, uniting all parliamentary opposition parties. ^[2] However, in October 2017, the Alliance for Progressives, led by Ndaba Gaolathe, broke away from the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD). ^[3] The BMD was expelled from the coalition in October 2018 after it refused to forgo contesting constituencies that had originally been allocated to it. ^{[4] [5]}

On 1 April 2018, Mokgweetsi Masisi of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was sworn in as Botswana's fifth president, replacing Ian Khama. The BDP held its primary elections on 20 January and 25 August 2018 to select its candidates, with over 1,300 candidates running to be selected to contest the general elections. ^[6] Following a falling out with Masisi, Khama left the BDP in May 2019 and announced that he would campaign against his former party in support of the Botswana Patriotic Front. ^[7]

Electoral system

The 65 members of the National Assembly consisted of 57 MPs elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post, six members appointed by the governing party, and two ex-officio members (the President and speaker). ^[8]

Voters were required to be citizens of Botswana and at least 18 years old, and have been resident in the country for at least 12 months prior to voter registration. People who were declared insane, held dual citizenship, were under a death sentence, had been convicted of an electoral offence or imprisoned for at least six months were not allowed to vote. ^[9] Candidates had to be citizens of Botswana, at least 21 years old, without an undischarged bankruptcy and be able to speak and read English sufficiently well to take part in parliamentary proceedings. ^[9]

Several proposed amendments to the Electoral Law, including the introduction of electronic voting and an increase in nomination fees, were dropped in September 2018. ^[10]

Election day and the two following days were declared public holidays. ^[11]

Results

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Botswana Democratic Party			406,561	52.65	38	+1
	Umbrella for Democratic Change		Botswana National Front	148,122	19.18	4	–4
			Botswana Congress Party	112,479	14.57	11	+8
			Botswana People's Party	16,470	2.13	0	0
		Total		277,071	35.88	15	–2
	Botswana Patriotic Front			34,068	4.41	3	New
	Alliance for Progressives			39,561	5.12	1	New
	Botswana Movement for Democracy			2,058	0.27	0	–9
	Real Alternative Party			145	0.02	0	New
	Independents			12,694	1.64	0	0
Appointed and ex officio members						8	+2
Total				772,158	100.00	65	0
Valid votes				772,158	99.21
Invalid/blank votes				6,185	0.79
Total votes				778,343	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				925,478	84.10
Source: IEC

Aftermath

African Union and SADC called the elections free and fair, but criticized the lack of indelible ink and translucent ballot boxes at the polling stations. ^[12] International observers declared the election to be "free and fair." ^[13]

However, in November 2019 opposition leader Duma Boko claimed that there had been "massive electoral discrepancies" and stated that he planned to challenge the results in court. ^[14] The appeal was initially dismissed by the High Court in December, but Boko appealed successfully to the Court of Appeal in early January 2020. ^[15] However, in the full hearing in late January, the Court of Appeal dismissed the petitions on the basis that it did not have sufficient jurisdiction to hear them. ^[16]

See also

• 12th Parliament of Botswana

Notes

1. Incumbent presidents are ineligible to contest National Assembly seats; instead, they serve as ex-officio members of Parliament.
2. During the 2014–19 parliamentary term, the Botswana Movement for Democracy (2 seats) left the UDC, whilst the Botswana Congress Party (3 seats) joined the UDC, resulting in the UDC holding 18 seats prior to the election

References

1. in May 2019 Archived 2020-03-04 at the Wayback Machine News 24, 31 August 2019
2. Boko unveils new UDC Archived 2020-01-01 at the Wayback Machine Weekend Post, 13 February 2017
3. Botswana: Alliance for Progressives Launches Archived 2019-01-20 at the Wayback Machine Botswana Daily News
4. UDC kicks out BMD, at last… Archived 2019-01-21 at the Wayback Machine Weekend Post, 29 October 2018
5. Botswana: Lowest levels of registration undermine elections Archived 2019-01-20 at the Wayback Machine APA News, 14 January 2019
6. Botswana: BDP, AP Hold Primary Elections Archived 2019-11-04 at the Wayback Machine Botswana Daily News
7. Khama officially quits BDP as new party is confirmed Archived 2019-09-05 at the Wayback Machine Sunday Standard, 26 May 2019
8. "FAQs". Parliament of Botswana. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
9. Electoral system IPU
10. Botswana - 2019 Election Global Security
11. Menzi Ndhlovu: Khama’s hand still rocks Botswana. Archived 2019-10-23 at the Wayback Machine Mail & Guardian, 17 October 2019.
12. "Botswana: Freedom in the World 2020 Country Report" . Retrieved 18 May 2020.
13. "Botswana's Masisi retains presidency as BDP wins election". Reuters. 25 October 2019.
14. MTHOKOZISI DUBE (1 November 2019). "Botswana opposition leader questions election results, wants to challenge them court". IOL. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
15. "Botswana opposition wins right to challenge election result - France 24". France 24. 8 January 2020. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
16. Court of Appeal ends UDC petition case with dismissal Archived 2020-10-04 at the Wayback Machine Mmegi Online, 31 January 2020