Quett Ketumile Joni Masire, GCMG was the second President of Botswana, in office from 1980 to 1998. He was a leading figure in the independence movement and then the new government, and played a crucial role in facilitating and protecting Botswana's steady financial growth and development. He stepped down in 1998 and was succeeded by Vice-President Festus Mogae, who became the third President of Botswana.
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.
General elections were held in Botswana on 30 October 2004, alongside local elections. The result was a ninth straight victory for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which won 44 of the 57 seats in the National Assembly.
The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) is a social-democratic political party in Botswana. The BCP was founded in 1998 in a split from the Botswana National Front, with most of the BNF's sitting Members of Parliament joining the new party after a leadership dispute with Kenneth Koma. MPs who helped found the party included Michael Dingake, Gilson Saleshando, Paul Rantao, Maitshwarelo Dabutha, Isaac Mabiletsa and Vain Mamela. The BCP's first national conference was held in April 1999, before the general election in October 1999.
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 MELS Movement of Botswana is a Marxist-Leninist communist party in Botswana without parliamentary representation. Themba Joina, a practicing lawyer, is the president of the organization. The name MELS is derived from (Karl) Marx, (Friedrich) Engels, (Vladimir) Lenin and (Joseph) Stalin.
General elections were held in Botswana on 16 October 1999, alongside local elections. The result was an eighth straight victory for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which increased its majority to 33 of the 40 elected seats in the National Assembly.
General elections were held in Botswana on 7 October 1989, alongside local elections. The result was the sixth straight landslide victory for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which won 31 of the 34 elected seats.
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.
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.
General elections were held in Botswana on 8 September 1984. Although the result was a fifth successive landslide victory for the Botswana Democratic Party, which won 29 of the 34 elected seats, the elections saw the opposition Botswana National Front make gains, winning both seats in the capital Gaborone and take control of all urban councils except Selebi-Phikwe in the simultaneous local elections.
General elections were held in Botswana on 18 October 1969, the first since independence in September 1966. With 140,428 registered voters, a decrease from the 188,950 in 1965, turnout was 54.73%. The result was a second successive landslide victory for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), who won 24 of the 31 elected seats, including three in which they were unopposed.
General elections were held in Botswana on 26 October 1974. With 205,050 registered voters, turnout was just 31.22%. The result was a third successive landslide victory for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), who won 27 of the 32 elected seats, including four in which they were unopposed. Local elections were held on the same day, with a turnout of just 30.3%, and saw the BDP strengthen its position.
General elections were held in Botswana on 20 October 1979. The result was a fourth successive landslide victory for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which won 29 of the 32 elected seats, including two in which they were unopposed.
General 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.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is a political alliance in Botswana.
Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi is the 5th and current President of Botswana. He has also served as Minister of Education since 2014, and previously he was Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration from 2011 to 2014. He was first elected to Parliament in 2009.
Gladys Kokorwe is a Botswana politician who has been the Speaker of the National Assembly since November 2014. She is a member of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).
General elections are scheduled to be held in Botswana in October 2019.
