Serowe North

Serowe North
Single-member constituency for the National Assembly
District	Central
Population	29,972
Major settlements	Serowe
Area	3,004 km2
Current constituency
Created	1965
Party	BPF
Created from	Serowe North East Serowe North West
Abolished	1999
Re-established	2014
MP	Baratiwa Mathoothe
Margin of victory	4,836 (40.3 pp)

Serowe North is a constituency in the Central District represented by Baratiwa Mathoothe, a BPF MP in the National Assembly of Botswana since 2019.

Constituency profile

Serowe North lies in the Central District and is primarily rural, with the main settlement being the village of Serowe. The constituency is part of the three historically safe BDP seats that flipped to the BPF and had an average swing of 76.7pp towards the BPF. ^[1] This shift was attributed to the fact that the BaNgwato tribe, of which the Khama family is the royal family, resides in the Serowe area. Prior to Ian Khama's departure from the BDP, the constituency consistently voted for the party by significant margins. However, following the fallout between Ian Khama and President Mokgweetsi Masisi, Khama encouraged people in the Serowe region to vote for the newly formed BPF and this message strongly resonated with the locals. ^[2]

Serowe North was the constituency of Botswana's first President, Seretse Khama, from 1965 until a constitutional amendment stated that the sitting president could not simultaneously be an elected member of the National Assembly in 1974. As such, it was traditionally always one of the BDP's safest strongholds in the country, with the party rarely obtaining less than 90% of the vote there from its establishment ahead of the inaugural 1965 elections until its last election in 1999 before its abolition ahead of the 2004 elections.

The constituency has the following localities: ^[3]

1. Parts of Serowe
2. Paje
3. Mabeleapodi
4. Tshimoyapula

Members of Parliament

Key:  BDP   BPF

Election	Winner
1965 election		Seretse Khama
1969 election
1974 election		Colin Blackbeard
1979 election
1984 election
1989 election		Roy Blackbeard
1994 election
1998 by-election		Ian Khama
1999 election
2014 election		Kgotla Autlwetse
2019 election		Baratiwa Mathoothe
2024 election

Election results

2024 election

General election 2024: Serowe North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	BPF	Baratiwa Mathoothe	7,635	63.66	+21.00
	BDP	Ogaketse Mathware	2,799	23.34	−11.11
	BCP	Matthews Batsalelwang	1,126	9.39	N/A
	BRP	Kabelo Pusoetsile	433	3.71	N/A
Margin of victory			4,836	40.32	+32.11
Total valid votes			11,993	99.24	+0.27
Rejected ballots			92	0.76	−0.27
Turnout			12,085	81.49	−2.38
Registered electors			14,830
	BPF hold		Swing	+16.06

2019 election

General election 2019: Serowe North ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	BPF	Baratiwa Mathoothe	5,394	42.66	New
	BDP	Kgotla Autlwetse	4,356	34.45	–50.95
	UDC	Keaobaka Kgano	1,656	13.10	+3.62
	Independent	Dikgakgamatso Seretse	926	7.32	New
	AP	Dods Selebego	312	2.47	New
Margin of victory			1,038	8.21	N/A
Total valid votes			12,644	98.97	+0.01
Rejected ballots			131	1.03	–0.01
Turnout			12,775	83.87	+2.38
Registered electors			15,231
	BPF gain from BDP		Swing	+46.81

2014 election

General election 2014: Serowe North ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	BDP	Kgotla Autlwetse	9,611	85.40
	UDC	Dods Selebogo	1,067	9.48
	BCP	Motswakhumo Basego	576	5.12
Margin of victory			8,544	75.92
Total valid votes			11,254	98.96
Rejected ballots			118	1.04
Turnout			11,372	81.49
Registered electors			13,955
	BDP notional hold

1999 election

General election 1999: Serowe North ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	BDP	Ian Khama	5,430	92.02	+4.72
	BNF	S. G. Ramaribana	329	4.74	−7.96
	BCP	Toro Lesego	225	3.24	−9.46
Margin of victory			5,101	87.28	+12.68
Total valid votes			6,946	96.19	N/A
Rejected ballots			275	3.81	N/A
Turnout			7,221	73.27	+10.2
Registered electors			9,856
	BDP hold		Swing	+6.34

1994 election

General election 1994: Serowe North ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	BDP	Roy Blackbeard	5,430	87.3	−5.17
	BNF	Toro Lesego	790	12.7	+5.17
Margin of victory			4,640	74.6	−10.34
Turnout			6,220	63.07	−5.39
Registered electors			9,862
	BDP hold		Swing	−5.17

1989 election

General election 1989: Serowe North ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	BDP	Roy Blackbeard	7,036	92.47	−3.1
	BNF	Abednico Masalila	573	7.53	+3.1
Margin of victory			6,463	84.94	−6.2
Turnout			7,609	68.46	−15.54
Registered electors			11,114
	BDP hold		Swing	−3.1

1984 election

General election 1984: Serowe North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	BDP	Colin Blackbeard	8,033	95.57	−3.53
	BNF	Modiri Khama	372	4.43	+3.53
Margin of victory			7,661	91.14	−7.06
Turnout			8,405	84.00	+24.54
Registered electors			10,006
	BDP hold		Swing	−3.53

1979 election

General election 1979: Serowe North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	BDP	Colin Blackbeard	4,352	99.10	+0.25
	BNF	Todd E. Kuhlman	50	0.90	−0.25
Margin of victory			4,302	98.2	+0.5
Turnout			6,481	59.46	+22.42
Registered electors			10,900
	BDP hold		Swing	+0.25

1974 election

General election 1974: Serowe North ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	BDP	Colin Blackbeard	3,360	98.85
	BNF	Todd E. Kuhlman	39	1.15
Margin of victory			3,321	97.7
Turnout			3,389	37.04
Registered electors			9,149
	BDP hold

1969 election

General election 1969: Serowe North ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	BDP	Seretse Khama	Walkover	N/A
Margin of victory			N/A	N/A
Registered electors			5,437
	BDP hold

1965 election

General election 1965: Kanye South ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	BDP	Seretse Khama	5,909	98.47
	BIP	K. K. Motshedisi	53	0.88
	BPP	K. T. Moletsane	39	0.65
Margin of victory			5,856	97.59
Turnout			6,001	N/A
Registered electors			N/A
	BDP win (new seat)

References

1. Seabo, Batlang; Nyenhuis, Robert (2021-11-23). "Botswana's 2019 General Elections: A Referendum on General Ian Khama" . African Studies Review. 64 (4): 854–883. doi:10.1017/asr.2021.69. ISSN   0002-0206. S2CID   244539238.
2. Basimanebotlhe, Tsaone (2022-10-10). "Serowe constituencies vulnerable as BPF rumpus continues". Mmegi Online . Retrieved 2023-06-16.
3. 2022 DELIMITATION COMMISSION REPORT (PDF). 2022. p. 46.
4. Independent Electoral Commission - Botswana National Assembly, 2019
5. Independent Electoral Commission - Botswana National Assembly, 2014
6. Independent Electoral Commission - Botswana National Assembly, 1999
7. Results by constituency
8. Report to the Minister of State on the general elections, 1974 (PDF). Supervisor of Elections. 1974.
9. "Report on the General Elections 1969" (PDF). 1969.
10. Gossett, Charles W.; Kebapetse, Lotshwao (21 April 2013). "Report on the 1965 General Election and the 1966 Local Government Election". Botswana Notes & Records. 41. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network (published 2009): 17. SSRN   2254423 . Retrieved 2024-01-27.