Parliament of Botswana Palamente ya Botswana | |
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13th Parliament | |
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Type | |
Type | |
Houses | National Assembly |
History | |
Founded | 1 March 1965 |
Leadership | |
Dithapelo Keorapetse since 7 November 2024 | |
Deputy Speaker | Helen Manyeneng, UDC since 7 November 2024 |
Duma Boko since 1 November 2024 | |
Leader of the House | Ndaba Gaolathe,UDC since 7 November 2024 |
Government Whip | TBD,UDC |
Opposition whip | Caterpillar Hikuama,BCP since 11 November 2024 |
Structure | |
Seats | 69 |
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National Assembly political groups | Government (49)
Official opposition (15) Other opposition (4) Presiding officer (1)
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Elections | |
First-past-the-post voting | |
Last National Assembly election | 30 October 2024 |
Meeting place | |
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National Assembly Chamber Gaborone South-East District | |
Website | |
www |
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Constitution |
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The Parliament of Botswana consists of the President and the National Assembly . [2] In contrast to other parliamentary systems, the Parliament elects the President directly (instead of having both a ceremonial President and a Prime Minister who has real authority as head of government) 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. [3] 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.
There also exists a body known as Ntlo ya Dikgosi , (The House of Chiefs), which is an advisory body that does not form part of the Parliament. [4]
Botswana is one of only two nations on the African continent (with the other being Mauritius) to have achieved a clean record of free and fair elections since independence, having held 11 elections since 1966 without any serious incidents of corruption. [5]
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.
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President is a common title for the head of state in most republics. Depending on the country, a president could be head of government, a ceremonial figurehead, or something between these two extremes.
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The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of the system include an executive branch made up of members of the legislature, and that is responsible to the legislature; the presence of parliamentary opposition parties; and a ceremonial head of state who is separate from the head of government. The term derives from the Palace of Westminster, which has been the seat of the Westminster Parliament in England and later the United Kingdom since the 13th century. The Westminster system is often contrasted with the presidential system that originated in the United States, or with the semi-presidential system, based on the government of France.
The politics of Barbados function within a framework of a parliamentary republic with strong democratic traditions; constitutional safeguards for nationals of Barbados include: freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.
The Government of Botswana often abbreviated as GOB, is the union government created by the constitution of Botswana having the executive, parliament, and the judiciary. The Seat of the Government is located in Gaborone, Botswana. The government is led by the president.
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The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town, the country's legislative capital.
The President of the Republic of Botswana is the head of state and the head of government of Botswana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, according to the Constitution of Botswana. Sir Seretse Khama was the prime minister from 1965 to 1966, however he later became president of Botswana, and as of 2024 there have been no prime ministers since.
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The Botswana National Front (BNF) is a social democratic political party in Botswana. It was the main opposition party in Botswana from the 1969 elections until the 2024 elections.
An indirect election or hierarchical voting, is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office, but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the oldest forms of elections and is used by many countries for heads of state, cabinets, heads of government, and/or upper houses. It is also used for some supranational legislatures.
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 Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority is vested in the President of South Africa who is head of state and head of government, and his Cabinet. The President is elected by the Parliament to serve a fixed term.
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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.
Phandu Tombola Chaka Skelemani is a Motswana politician who is the former speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana having served from 2018 to 2024. He served in the government of Botswana as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2014. A member of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Skelemani was a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Botswana, a position he vacated following the defeat of the Botswana Democratic Party in November 2024, and a member of the Pan-African Parliament from Botswana, and he served as Attorney-General of Botswana from 1992 to 2003.
The Constitution of Botswana commenced on September 30, 1966.
General elections were held in Botswana on 30 October 2024 to determine the composition of the 13th Parliament of Botswana as well as local councils across the country. Up for election were 61 seats of the National Assembly as well as 609 local council seats, all elected through the first-past-the-post voting system.
2 are Ex-officios being the President and The Speaker