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General elections were held in Botswana on 7 October 1989, alongside local elections. [1] The result was the sixth straight landslide victory for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which won 31 of the 34 elected seats. [2]

The Botswana Democratic Party is the governing party in Botswana. Its chairman is the current Vice-President of the Republic of Botswana, Slumber Tsogwane. The previous party chairs include, among others, Mokgweetsi Masisi, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, Daniel Kwelagobe, Samson Guma Moyo, and Lieutenant General Ian Khama.
A referendum on electoral reform had been held in 1987, and resulted in the creation of a Supervisor of Elections, which would be appointed by the government. Both the BDP and the Botswana National Front (BNF) hold primary elections to select candidates. [3]
The Botswana National Front has been the main opposition party in Botswana since the 1969 elections. It achieved its greatest electoral success in the 1994 elections, when it won 37.1% of the vote and 13 of 40 parliamentary seats. A factional conflict in 1998 led to the departure of 11 of these MPs, who then founded the Botswana Congress Party (BCP). In the 1999 elections, the BNF's vote share declined to 26% and it won 6 parliamentary seats. In the 2004 general election the party won 26.1% of the popular vote and 12 out of 57 seats. Its representation was sharply reduced in the 2009 elections, with the party reduced to only six seats in the National Assembly of Botswana. The BNF's parliamentary representation fell to 5 seats following the defection of the party's former Vice President, Olebile Gaborone, to the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in July 2010.
The BNF went into the elections suffering from instability; Bathoen Gaseitsiwe resigned as party leader in 1985 after becoming head of the Customary Court of Appeal. Prior to the elections Bathoen criticised new party leader Kenneth Koma for his left-wing policies, resigned from the BNF and established the Botswana Freedom Party (BFP). The new BFP ran as a nationalist and pro-free market party. [3] The ruling BDP campaigned on its record in government around economic development and political stability. [1]
A total of 91 candidates contested the elections, with the BDP being the only party to field a full slate of 34 candidates. The BNF put forward 31 candidates, the Botswana People's Party 11, the Botswana Independence Party 9, the Botswana Freedom Party 2 and the Botswana Progressive Union and Botswana Liberal Party both had a single candidate. [3]
The Botswana People's Party (BPP) was formed as the Bechuanaland People's Party during Botswana's colonial era, in December 1960. 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.
The Botswana Independence Party (BIP) was a political party in Botswana that existed from 1964 to 1995.
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana Democratic Party | 162,277 | 64.78 | 31 | +2 |
| Botswana National Front | 67,513 | 26.95 | 3 | –1 |
| Botswana People's Party | 10,891 | 4.34 | 0 | –1 |
| Botswana Independence Party | 6,209 | 2.48 | 0 | 0 |
| Botswana Progressive Union | 2,186 | 0.87 | 0 | 0 |
| Botswana Freedom Party | 1,363 | 0.54 | 0 | New |
| Botswana Liberal Party | 48 | 0.02 | 0 | New |
| Indirectly elected members | – | – | 4 | – |
| Total | 250,487 | 100 | 38 | 0 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 367,069 | 68.24 | – | – |
| Source: Inter-parliamentary Union, Nohlen et al. | ||||
Following the elections, the BNF claimed that there had been irregularities in the Mochudi constituency, where they lost to the BDP by 29 votes. The High Court ruled in the BNF's favour, resulting in a by-election in June 1990 in which the BDP retained the seat. [3]
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