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Politics of Botswana takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Botswana is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Botswana. The party system has been dominated by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has never lost power since independence. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Gaborone is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 231,626 based on the 2011 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 Parliament of Botswana consists of the President and the National Assembly. In contrast to other Parliamentary systems, the Parliament elects the President directly for a set five-year term of office. There are no term limits. The President is both head of State and of Government in Botswana's parliamentary republican system. The former President of Botswana is Ian Khama, who assumed the Presidency on 1 April 2008 and won a full five-year term in the postceding Botswana General elections, which were held on 16 October 2009 and returned his Botswana Democratic Party with a majority of 35 seats in the 61 seat Parliament.
Kanye is a town in southern Botswana, located 83 kilometres (52 mi) south-west of the capital, Gaborone. It is the administrative centre of the Southern District, and had a population of 45,196 at the 2011 census, making it the eighth-largest town in the country. Kanye is the traditional capital of the Ngwaketse tribe, who first settled in the area in the 1790s. The town is the longest continuously occupied tribal capital in the country.
The National Assembly is the legislative body within Botswana's unicameral Parliament. It is advised by the Ntlo ya Dikgosi, which is not a house of Parliament.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Botswana:
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.
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.
Botswana is divided into fifty-seven parliamentary constituencies.
Local elections in Botswana were held on 30 October 2004 for the district councils of the Districts of Botswana.
Local elections in Botswana were held on 16 October 1999 for the district councils of the Districts of 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).
