Parliament of Botswana

Parliament of Botswana Palamente ya Botswana
13th Parliament
Type
Type	Unicameral
Houses	National Assembly
History
Founded	1 March 1965 (1965-03-01)
Leadership
Speaker	Dithapelo Keorapetse since 7 November 2024
Deputy Speaker	Helen Manyeneng, UDC since 7 November 2024
President of Botswana	Duma Boko since 1 November 2024
Leader of the House	Ndaba Gaolathe,UDC since 7 November 2024
Government Whip	TBD,UDC
Leader of the Opposition	Dumelang Saleshando, BCP since 11 November 2024
Opposition whip	Caterpillar Hikuama,BCP since 11 November 2024
Structure
Seats	69
National Assembly political groups	Government (49)   Umbrella for Democratic Change (36) [a]   Botswana Patriotic Front (5)   Specially-elected (6)   Independent (1)   President (Ex-officio) (1) [1] Official opposition (15)   Botswana Congress Party (15) Other opposition (4)   Botswana Democratic Party (4) Presiding officer (1)   Speaker (Ex-officio) (1) [1]
Elections
National Assembly voting system	First-past-the-post voting
Last National Assembly election	30 October 2024
Next National Assembly election	By October 2029
Meeting place
National Assembly Chamber Gaborone South-East District
Website
www.parliament.gov.bw

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 African nations (together with 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]

See also

• Politics of Botswana
• National Assembly of Botswana
• List of legislatures by country

Notes

1. •   Botswana National Front (23)
   •   Alliance for Progressives (6)
   •   Independents (3)
   •   Botswana People's Party (4)

References

1. "FAQs". parliament.gov.bw. Parliament of Botswana. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2021. 2 are Ex-officios being the President and The Speaker
2. Constitution of the Republic of Botswana, 1966
3. "Parliament of Botswana". Parliament of Botswana. 19 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
4. Proctor, J. H. (1968). "The House of Chiefs and the Political Development of Botswana". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 6 (1): 59–79. doi:10.1017/S0022278X00016670. ISSN   0022-278X. JSTOR   158677. S2CID   154486897.
5. US State Department

External links

• https://www.parliament.gov.bw/index.php/2012-02-13-15-06-33 Archived 19 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine