This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2023) |
Leader of the Opposition of the National Assembly of Botswana | |
---|---|
Incumbent Dithapelo Keorapetse since 12 July 2022 | |
Style | The Honourable |
Appointer | Largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government |
Term length | While leader of the largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government |
Inaugural holder | Philip Matante |
Formation | 3 March 1965 |
Salary | P641,436 [1] |
In Botswana, the Leader of the Opposition is the person who leads the official opposition in Botswana. The position is awarded to the leader of the political party with the largest number of seats in the National Assembly that is not in the government. The position was created shortly before the independence of Botswana, after the first elections under universal suffrage in the then territory of Bechuanaland.
As in most countries that are governed under the Westminster parliamentary system, the leader of the Opposition is an elected member of the National Assembly who enjoys numerous particular prerogatives. They are considered the main spokesman for the majority opposition party in the National Assembly and has the right to make official statements in the National Assembly on important national and international issues on behalf of the majority opposition. They have longer speaking times than ordinary members during debates on the State of the Union Address, the Budget Address, or any other major government policy statement, and can be the first to respond to the State of the Nation address, budget speech, or any other major statement of government policy.
By virtue of his position, the leader of the Opposition is an ex officio member of two Parliamentary Committees; the Selection Committee and the Business Advisory Committees. He also holds the positions of Second Vice President of the Botswana Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Executive Member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum and is an Executive Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Committee. [2] The current Leader of the Opposition is Dithapelo Keorapetse. He succeeded Dumelang Saleshando as Leader of the Opposition on the 12th of July 2022. [3]
Source: [2]
No. | Leader | Period | Party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Image | Name | Start | End | |||
1 | Philip Matante (1912-1979) | 3 March 1965 | 23 August 1969 | Botswana People's Party | ||
2 | Bathoen Gaseitsiwe (1908-1990) | 20 October 1969 | 20 July 1984 | Botswana National Front | ||
3 | Kenneth Koma (1923-2007) | 10 January 1985 | 1 August 2003 | Botswana National Front | ||
4 | Nehemiah Modubule | 1 August 2003 | 7 November 2005 | Botswana National Front | ||
5 | Otsweletse Moupo | 7 November 2005 | 21 August 2009 | Botswana National Front | ||
6 | Olebile Gaborone (b. 1947) | 17 October 2009 | 5 August 2010 | Botswana National Front | ||
7 | Botsalo Ntuane (b. 1971) | 5 August 2010 | 12 July 2012 | Botswana Movement for Democracy | ||
8 | Dumelang Saleshando (b. 1971) | 12 July 2012 | 29 August 2014 | Botswana Congress Party | ||
9 | Duma Boko (b. 1969) | 25 October 2014 | 28 August 2019 | Botswana National Front | ||
(8) | Dumelang Saleshando (b. 1971) | 5 November 2019 | 12 July 2022 [3] | Botswana Congress Party | ||
10 | Dithapelo Keorapetse (b. 1982) | 12 July 2022 [3] | Incumbent | Independent [lower-alpha 1] |
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 politics of Bulgaria take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the prime minister is the 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 National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Politics in Estonia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Estonia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in the Estonian parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government, which is led by the prime minister. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Estonia is a member of the United Nations, the European Union, and NATO.
Politics in Georgia involve a parliamentary representative democratic republic with a multi-party system. The President of Georgia is the ceremonial head of state and the Prime Minister of Georgia is the head of government. The Prime Minister and the Government wield executive power. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the unicameral Parliament of Georgia.
The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland.
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President of India, in their role as head of the legislature, has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha, but they can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and their Union Council of Ministers.
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King), as the head of state, is the third component of Parliament.
The Botswana National Front (BNF) is a social democratic political party in Botswana. It has been the main opposition party in Botswana since the 1969 elections.
The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) is a social democratic political party in Botswana. Founded in 1998 as a result of a split from the Botswana National Front (BNF), the party attracted most of the BNF's sitting MPs due to a leadership dispute involving the BNF's leader, Kenneth Koma.
Deniz Baykal was a Turkish politician. A member of the Republican People's Party (CHP) who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996. Having served in numerous government positions, Baykal led the CHP from 1992 to February 1995, from September 1995 to 1999 and again from 2000 to 2010. Between 2002 and 2010, he also served as the Leader of the Opposition by virtue of leading the second largest party in the Parliament.
The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) who are appointed. Following the 2020 general election, 93 MPs and two NCMPs from three political parties were elected to the 14th Parliament. Throughout the sitting of Parliament, nine NMPs are usually appointed by the president on a biennial basis.
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. A president can only serve 2 full terms. The President is both Head of state and of government in Botswana's parliamentary republican system. Parliament of Botswana is the supreme legislative authority. The President of Botswana is Mokgweetsi Masisi, who assumed the Presidency on 1 April 2018. In October 2019, the 2019 general election was held which saw the return of the Botswana Democratic Party to the power with a majority of 19 seats in the 65 seat National Assembly.
The National Assembly is the sole legislative body of Botswana's unicameral Parliament, of which consists of the President and the National Assembly. The House passes laws, provides ministers to form Cabinet, and supervises the work of government. It is also responsible for adopting the country's budgets. It is advised by the Ntlo ya Dikgosi, a council of tribal chiefs which is not a house of Parliament.
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.
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 and local 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.
Dumelang Saleshando is a politician from Botswana who served as the Leader of the Opposition in Botswana from 2019-2022. He was replaced by Dithapelo Keorapetse.
Bálint Pásztor is a Serbian politician. An ethnic Hungarian, he has led the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ) since October 2023, initially on an acting basis and since March 2024 as the party's elected president. Pásztor has served in the National Assembly of Serbia since 2007 and has been the president of the Subotica City Assembly since 2020.
The 2024 Botswana general election will be held to determine the composition of the 13th Parliament of Botswana as well as local councils across the country. Up for election are 61 seats of the National Assembly as well as 490 local council seats, all elected through the first-past-the-post voting system.
Gaborone Central is a constituency in Gaborone City represented in the National Assembly of Botswana since 2019 by Tumisang Healy, a BDP MP.