Botswana Patriotic Front | |
---|---|
Leader | Mephato Reatile |
Chairperson | Oboetswe Gabotlale |
General Secretary | Tshekedi Khama |
Founded | July 2019 |
Split from | Botswana Democratic Party |
Ideology | Pro-Ian Khama [1] Populism [2] Ngwato interests |
Political position | Big tent |
National affiliation | None Formerly: Umbrella for Democratic Change (2022–2024) |
National Assembly | 4 / 57 |
Pan African Parliament | 0 / 5 |
Election symbol | |
Website | |
www | |
Constitution |
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Portal |
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.
The party was officially launched in July 2019 as a split from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). [3] It was backed by former president and BDP leader Ian Khama after he left the party. [1]
In the October 2019 general elections, the party received 4.3% of the vote and won three seats, all in Khama's home area of Central District – Tshekedi Khama II elected in Serowe West, Leepetswe Lesedi in Serowe South and Baratiwa Mathoothe in Serowe North. However, party leader Biggie Butale failed to be elected in Tati West. [4]
On 6 August 2022, the BPF joined the Umbrella for Democratic Change alliance, at that time, uniting all opposition parties in the National Assembly except the Alliance for Progressives. [5] However, during a party retreat on the 6th of April 2024, the party left the alliance, opting for a "pact model" instead of running under the UDC symbol ahead of the 2024 elections. [6]
Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Biggie Butale | 34,028 | 4.41% | 3 / 57 | New | 3rd | Opposition |
The Botswana Patriotic Front uses a clock with its arms pointing at 4 o'clock as its logo or election symbol. The clock is accompanied by the words Ke Nako, meaning "it is time" in Setswana. [7]
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 are considered free and fair by observers, the BDP has controlled the National Assembly since independence. Political opposition 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.
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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 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.
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Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi is a Botswana politician who 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.
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.
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The 12th Parliament of Botswana is the current meeting of the National Assembly, the unicameral legislature of the Parliament of Botswana, with the membership determined by the results of the general election held on 23 October 2019. The legislature convened for the first time on 5 November 2019.
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.
Biggie Ganda Butale is a Motswana politician and the current leader of the Botswana Republican Party (BRP) since 14 November 2023. He previously served as the Member of Parliament for Tati West in the 11th Parliament from 2014 to 2019. Butale, the founding President of the Botswana Patriotic Front from July 2019 to July 2023, was ousted following a leadership dispute. Subsequently, he established the BRP on 14 November 2023.
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