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.
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. The result was a tenth successive victory for the Botswana Democratic Party,which won 45 of the 57 elected seats in the National Assembly.
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.
Seretse Khama Ian Khama is a Motswana 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.
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.
The Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) is a right-wing populist political party in Botswana,founded in 2010 by MPs and other politicians who parted ways with the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) due to differences with Ian Khama,the leader of the BDP and the President of Botswana at the time.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Anna Maria Mokgethi is a Motswana politician serving as the Minister of Nationality,Immigration and Gender Affairs since November 2019. She is the Member of Parliament for Gaborone Bonnington North. Mokgethi is a member of the Botswana Democratic Party.
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.
Keletso Joseph Rakhudu is a Motswana politician who served on the Pan-African Parliament representing Botswana and on the Parliament of Botswana for Gaborone as the Assistant Minister of Trade Ministry,Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development,and Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning in varying times from 2004 to 2014. He was a part of the Botswana Democratic Party.
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.
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.
