2019 in Botswana

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Botswana held a general election in October 2019. Though it was more competitive than previous elections, it resulted in a victory for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and won an addition term for President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Botswana saw an escalation in the rivalry between Masisi and his predecessor Ian Khama, with Khama leaving the Botswana Democratic Party to support the Botswana Patriotic Front and the Umbrella for Democratic Change. Following the BDP's victory, opposition leaders challenged the results of the election.

Contents

The Sewelô diamond was discovered in April 2019, and two other diamonds, the Okavango Blue and the Lesedi La Rona, were unveiled in the same month. The nation's ban on elephant hunting was controversially lifted in May 2019. Botswana's law criminalising homosexuality was overturned by the High Court of Botswana in June 2019, prompting a challenge from the government.

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Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Botswana</span>

The president of the Republic of Botswana is the head of state and the head of government of Botswana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, according to the Constitution of Botswana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Botswana Democratic Party</span> Dominant political party in Botswana

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly of Botswana</span> Botswanas national unicameral legislature

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Botswana</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Botswana face legal issues not experienced by non-LGBT citizens. Both female and male same-sex sexual acts have been legal in Botswana since 11 June 2019 after a unanimous ruling by the High Court of Botswana. Despite an appeal by the government, the ruling was upheld by the Botswana Court of Appeal on 29 November 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi</span> Botswana journalist

Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi is a Botswana journalist and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana from 2014 until December 2018. She was appointed to the National Assembly of Botswana in 1999 as one of the four specially selected members and was re-elected in the 2004 general elections.

Tshekedi Stanford Khama is a Botswana politician. He was MP for Serowe West from 2008 to 21 April 2023. He was automatically disqualified from the National Assembly after missing two consecutive sessions because of his self-imposed exile to South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Khama</span> Fourth president of Botswana from 2008 to 2018

Seretse Khama Ian Khama is a Botswana politician and former military officer who was the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, he entered politics and was Vice-President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008, then succeeded Festus Mogae as President on 1 April 2008. He won a full term in the 2009 election and was re-elected in October 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ponatshego Kedikilwe</span> 7th Vice President of The Republic of Botswana

Ponatshego Honorius Kefaeng Kedikilwe is a Motswana politician who was Vice-President of Botswana from 2012 to 2014. A member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), he has also served as Minister of Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources since 2007.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umbrella for Democratic Change</span> Centre-left alliance of political parties in Botswana

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is a centre-left alliance of political parties in Botswana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mokgweetsi Masisi</span> President of Botswana since 2018

Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi is the fifth and current President of Botswana, serving since 2018. He served as the 8th Vice President of Botswana from 12 November 2014 to 1 April 2018. He was a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly for the Moshupa-Manyana constituency from 2009 to 2018.

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).

The following lists events that happened during 2014 in Botswana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slumber Tsogwane</span> Vice President of Botswana

Slumber Tsogwane is the current Vice President of Botswana and also Member of Parliament for Boteti West. He is the longest serving Member of Parliament of the 12th Parliament of Botswana. He took office on 4 April 2018, succeeding Mokgweetsi Masisi. He is a member of the Botswana Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Botswana general election</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Botswana Patriotic Front</span> Political party in Botswana

The Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) is a populist political party in Botswana formed in July 2019 by members of the Botswana Democratic Party who split from the party because of a high profile rivalry between former President Ian Khama and Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Botswana saw the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Lockdowns were implemented between March and May, and restrictions continued throughout the year. The previous year's general election was disputed by the opposition, and several cases were filed to overturn the results. Tensions rose with South Africa in 2020 as Botswana sought the prosecution of Bridgette Radebe. Concerns regarding wildlife conservation increased in 2020 as elephants began dying off in large numbers, as well as similar concerns about vultures. Armed conflicts with poachers continued throughout the year, including the killing of four men in November that caused protests in Namibia.

Botswana continued to address the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, beginning its vaccination process through the importation of vaccines. On November 11, Botswana was the location of the first documented case of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. 2021 also saw the discovery of two diamonds in Botswana that exceeded 1000 carats, becoming the third and fourth largest diamonds ever discovered. In relations with its neighbouring countries, Botswana continued to address violence at the Botswana–Namibia border, and it entered into the conflict in Cabo Delgado in support of the government of Mozambique.

Botswana continued to address the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, including the discovery of the COVID-19 variant Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, with COVID-19 restrictions being relaxed in October. Continued disputes took place regarding the Botswana–Namibia border, though an open border was established in September. The rivalry between President Mokgweetsi Masisi and his predecessor Ian Khama escalated in 2022, accelerated by firearms charges against Khama and a warrant for his arrest. The government also saw controversy for its support of bills that would grant it additional espionage powers and regulate journalists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Serowe West by-election</span> Botswana parliamentary by-election

A by-election for the Botswana parliamentary constituency of Serowe West was held on 8 July 2023. The vacancy was caused by the expulsion on 21 April 2023 of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Tshekedi Khama of the BPF, following his absence from the minimum required two consecutive meetings of the same session to trigger a by-election per the Standing Orders of the National Assembly.

References

  1. ↑ "Botswana bans animal meat, products from SA". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  2. ↑ "Botswana arrests ex-spy boss". The Mail & Guardian. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  3. ↑ Dube, Mqondisi (20 February 2019). "Botswana sack coach David Bright". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  4. ↑ Musvanhiri, Privilege (1 March 2019). "Botswana extends credit line to Zimbabwe". dw.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  5. ↑ "Botswana court hears bid to scrap anti-gay laws". Egypt Independent. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  6. ↑ Thom, Liezl (17 April 2019). "Rare 20-carat blue diamond unveiled in Botswana". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  7. ↑ "Botswana's Masisi gets BDP nod as Venson-Moitoi walks out of 'sham' election". Africa Times. 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  8. ↑ "Giant Diamond Over 300 Carats Unveiled". News 24. 10 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "1,758-carat diamond, world's second largest, found in Botswana". Daily Sabah. 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  10. ↑ "Botswana and the WHO co-host four SADC countries to conduct Regional Training on National Rapid Response Teams - Botswana | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  11. ↑ Ingber, Sasha (23 May 2019). "Botswana Lifts Its Ban On Elephant Hunting". NPR.
  12. ↑ "Ian Khama formalises his divorce from Botswana's ruling party". ISS Africa. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  13. ↑ "Catastrophic vulture poisoning in Botswana 'one of biggest ever'". BirdGuides. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  14. ↑ Katz, Brigit (11 June 2019). "In Landmark Ruling, Botswana Strikes Down Colonial-Era Law Criminalizing Homosexuality". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  15. ↑ Dube, Mqondisi (2019-07-18). "Activists Decry Botswana's Appeal Against Legalizing Gay Sex". VOA. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  16. ↑ Owino, Wene (2020-08-21). "Theatre of the absurd plays out in Botswana power feud". The East African. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  17. ↑ Selatlhwa, Innocent (2023-07-17). "BPF: The power struggle persists". Mmegi Online. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  18. ↑ "Ex-Botswana football official banned". Nehanda Radio. 2019-07-23. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  19. ↑ "Botswana extends free HIV treatment to non-citizens". www.unaids.org. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  20. ↑ "Botswana hires Algerian Amrouche and gives tall order". PM News Nigeria. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  21. ↑ Dube, Mqondisi (2019-09-17). "First Group of Namibia Refugees Deported From Botswana". VOA. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  22. ↑ Benza, Brian (2019-10-22). "Botswana votes in first real challenge to ruling party". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  23. ↑ "Botswana's ruling party BDP wins general election: Chief justice". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  24. ↑ Mguni, Mbongeni (2019-11-26). "Botswana's Opposition Parties File Appeals Over Election Results". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  25. ↑ "Mokgweetsi Masisi sworn in as new Botswana president". Punch Newspapers. 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  26. ↑ Bosaletswe, Calistus (24 November 2019). "Botswana closes down Bushiri's church". City Press. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  27. ↑ Dube, Mqondisi (2019-11-15). "Botswana's HIV Patients Relieved as Legal Battle Over Medicine Ends". VOA. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  28. ↑ "Botswana retailer Choppies sells ailing South African operations for 1 rand". Reuters. 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  29. ↑ "Bishop Boniface Tshosa Setlalekgosi". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
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