Botswana general election, 2004

Botswana general election, 2004
57 of the 63 seats to the National Assembly
President before election; Festus Mogae ; BDP	Elected President; Festus Mogae ; BDP

Last updated March 16, 2019

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.

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. Since then, they maintain a tradition of stable representative republic, with a consistent record of uninterrupted democratic elections and the best perceived corruption ranking in Africa since at least 1998. It is currently Africa's oldest continuous democracy.

Botswana Democratic Party political party

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.

Background

The Independent Electoral Commission had a campaign to encourage voter registration, with a target of registering at 500,000 voters. Although it achieved its target, registering around 61% of the estimated 900,000 voting age population, the opposition Botswana National Front (BNF) accused it of making errors in the registration process.^[1]

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.

Campaign

For the first time, the election campaign involved parties using billboards. However, the opposition claimed that their media access was restricted, and a study by the Media Institute of Southern Africa showed that the BDP had received over 50% of the election coverage.^[1] The BDP campaigned on promises to improve training, expand electricity and water supplies and amend laws that discriminated against women. The campaign of the opposition parties focussed on unemployment and poverty.^[1] However, although the BNF, Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) and Botswana People's Party (BPP), entered into an electoral pact agreement in 2003, their campaigns were marked by open personal attacks between them and their leaders.

The Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) is a progressive political party in Botswana, led by Ephraim Lepetu Setshwaelo. Prior to the 2009 election the party entered into an electoral pact with the Botswana Congress Party. In the 2009 elections the party won a seat in the National Assembly of Botswana for the first time.

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.

Fifty-six of the 57 constituencies were contested, with Vice President Ian Khama unopposed in the Serowe North constituency.^[1]

Serêtsê Khama Ian Khama is a Motswana former military officer and retired politician who served as 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 served as 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.

Serowe is a town in Botswana's Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's history, as capital for the Bamangwato people in the early 20th century and as birthplace of several of Botswana's presidents. More recently it has undergone significant development as the town and Botswana continue to grow.

Conduct

For the first time, international monitors were able to observe the elections, with delegations from the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, the Commonwealth and the United Nations in attendance. There were 11,000 personnel from the Independent Electoral Commission involved in running the elections.^[1]

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 16 southern African states.

The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa, with exception of various territories of European possessions located in Africa. The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa. The intention of the AU is to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa.

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally known as the Commonwealth, is a unique political association of 53 member states, nearly all of them former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations between member states.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Botswana Democratic Party	213,308	51.73	44	+11
Botswana National Front	107,451	26.06	12	+6
Botswana Congress Party	68,556	16.62	1	0
Botswana Alliance Movement	11,716	2.84	0	0
Botswana People's Party	7,886	1.91	0	New
New Democratic Front	3,237	0.78	0	New
MELS Movement of Botswana	121	0.03	0	0
Independents	104	0.03	0	0
Indirectly-elected seats	–	–	6	–
Invalid/blank votes	8,893	–	–	–
Total	421,272	100	63	+19
Registered voters/turnout	555,849	76.20	–	–
Source: African Elections Database

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References

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