During its existence, the BIP played the role of a minor opposition party. The party participated in five national elections (1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, and 1989), but managed to gain representation in the National Assembly only twice (1969 and 1974), both times winning only one seat.
In 1994, the BIP merged with the Botswana Freedom Party (BFP) to form the Independence Freedom Party (IFP) under the leadership of Motsamai Mpho. The IFP won only 3% of the vote and no seats in elections held on 15 October 1994. Soon after, the IFP ceased to exist.
"Fatshe leno la rona" is the national anthem of Botswana. The music was composed by Kgalemang Tumediso Motsete, who also authored the song's lyrics. It was adopted when the country became independent in 1966. Since independence, the song is sung occasionally during the country's important events such as Kgotla meetings, independence celebrations and other national events. The national anthem is highly respected to an extent that when it is sung movements are not allowed, people stand at attention, and security officers, like the police and soldiers, salute as a show of respect.
The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seventh Parliament was first convened on 22 May 2019.
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a right-wing political party in South Africa. The party has been led by Velenkosini Hlabisa since the party's 2019 National General Conference. Mangosuthu Buthelezi founded the party in 1975 and led it until 2019. The IFP is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa, in 2014 yielding third place to the Economic Freedom Fighters, formed in 2013. Although registered as a national party, it has had only minor electoral success outside its home province of KwaZulu-Natal.
General elections were held in South Africa between 26 and 29 April 1994. The elections were the first in which citizens of all races were allowed to take part, and were therefore also the first held with universal suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and marked the culmination of the four-year process that ended apartheid.
The Freedom Front Plus is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include abolishing affirmative action, replacing it with merit based appointments, and being firmly against the proposed expropriation without compensation land reform movement to protect the rights and interests of minorities, especially Afrikaners and Afrikaans speaking Coloureds. The party also supports greater self-determination for minorities throughout South Africa, and expressly has adopted Cape Independence as an official party position.
Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi is a South African politician and Zulu traditional leader who is currently a Member of Parliament and the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family. He was Chief Minister of the KwaZulu bantustan during apartheid and founded the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in 1975. He also served as Minister of Home Affairs from 1994 to 2004.
A dominant-party system, or one-party dominant system, is a political occurrence in which a single political party continuously dominates election results over running opposition groups or parties. Any ruling party staying in power for more than one consecutive term may be considered a dominant party. Some dominant parties were called the natural governing party, given their length of time in power.
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.
Elections in Botswana take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a parliamentary system. The National Assembly is mostly directly elected, and in turn elects the President and some of its own members. The Ntlo ya Dikgosi is a mixture of appointed, hereditary and indirectly elected members.
The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation system where half of the members are elected proportionally from nine provincial lists and the remaining half from national lists so as to restore proportionality.
The Botswana People's Party (BPP), originally the Bechuanaland People's Party, is a political party in Botswana formed in December 1960 during the colonial era. As a result of disappointment with the Legislative Council, under the leadership of Kgalemang T. Motsete, an accomplished music composer and educationist, BPP became the first mass party to agitate for full independence.
Ntlhoi Motsamai is a Lesotho politician who has been the Speaker of the National Assembly twice; first, from 1999 to 2012, then from March 2015 to June 2017. Motsamai worked as a teacher before entering politics.
The Shell House massacre was a 1994 shooting incident that took place at Shell House, the headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC), in central Johannesburg, South Africa in the lead up to the 1994 elections.
Moutlakgola Palgrave Kediretswe Nwako was a former politician and diplomat in Botswana. Nwako served as the first foreign minister from 1966-1969. He was Speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana from 1989 to 1999.
The present Constitution of Botswana commenced on September 30, 1966.
General elections were held in the Bechuanaland Protectorate on 1 March 1965, the country's first election under universal suffrage. The result was a landslide victory for the Bechuanaland Democratic Party, with Seretse Khama becoming Prime Minister. Following the elections, the country became independent as Botswana on 30 September 1966, at which point Khama became President.
The National Freedom Party (NFP) is a South African political party. It was launched on 25 January 2011 by Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, former chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), along with other former IFP members.
Motsamai Keyecwe Mpho was a Motswana activist and politician. He founded Botswana's first political party in 1960, the Botswana People's Party, then known as the Bechualand People's Party, alongside Klaas Motshidisi, Kgalemang Motsete, and Philip Matante. However, due to conflict within the party, Mpho left and founded the Botswana Independence Party in 1964. He also served as a member of the National Assembly. Some historians believe that Mpho was the first to introduce the term 'Botswana' into formal political vocabulary, replacing the colonialist name of Bechuanaland.
Narend Singh is a South African politician who is the chief whip of the Inkatha Freedom Party in the National Assembly and the treasurer-general of the party. Prior to joining the National Assembly in 2007, he was a Member of the Executive Council in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government from 1997 until 2006 and a member of the Senate from 1994 to 1996.
Mpho Phalatse is a South African medical doctor and politician who is the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. A member of the Democratic Alliance, she has served in the position since 22 November 2021. She is the first woman to serve as mayor of the metropolitan municipality, which was established in 2000. She is the first black woman to serve as mayor of the city of Johannesburg and only the second female mayor of the city after Jessie McPherson, who served from 1945 to 1946.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
