General election in Botswana 2019

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← 2014General election
in Botswana 2019
Turnout 83.5%
 %
60
50
40
30th
20th
10
0
52.6
35.9
5.1
4.4
1.6
0.3
Independent
Otherwise.
Gains and losses
compared to 2014
 % p
 10
   5
   0
  -5
-10
-15
-20
-25
+6.1
+5.9
+5.1
+4.4
-1.5
-20.2
Independent
Otherwise.
Template: election chart / maintenance / notes
Remarks:
c The Alliance for Progressives (AP) was founded in 2017.
d The Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) was founded in 2019.
Parliament building in Gaborone

The parliamentary elections in Botswana in 2019 took place on October 23, 2019. The election was clearly won by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has ruled since 1966 . The alliance Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) admitted its defeat on October 25th. This also indirectly confirmed President Mokgweetsi Masisi in office.

Background and initial situation

The parliamentary elections in Botswana in 2014 , like all previous elections, were won by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). Although it lost eight seats compared to the 2009 election , it was able to retain 37 of the 63 seats due to the electoral system. The opposition alliance Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) under Duma Boko and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) together won more than 50 percent of the vote, but only 20 seats. Both groups merged in 2017. In 2018 the Botswana Movement for Democracy was excluded from the UDC because of its internal disputes.

In April 2018, President Ian Khama resigned after ten years in office under the constitution. Mokgweetsi Masisi became his successor.

Ian Khama left the BDP in 2019 after violent arguments with Masisi and supported the establishment of the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), which his brother Tshekedi Khama joined.

Election day was moved from the usual Saturday to a Wednesday for the first time. Election day and the two following days have been declared public holidays.

Around 925,000 citizens registered for the election.

Electoral system

The 65 members of the Botswana National Assembly are composed of 57 members elected directly after a majority vote , one from each constituency . Six members (up to the last election: four) are appointed by the President, two are ex officio members .

The right to vote have all Botswaner that are at least 18 years old and have lived at least 12 months in the country before registering as voters. Irresponsible persons, persons with multiple nationalities , convicts with the death penalty , prisoners with a sentence of more than six months and electoral fraudsters are not allowed to vote. The stand for election have candidates at least 21 years old and not bankrupt are well English speak and read.

The Botswana President is elected by the National Assembly at the beginning of the legislative period.

Election result

Majorities by constituency
Bottom line
Political party be right % +/- Seats +/-
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) 406,561 52.65 +6.20 38 +1
Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) 277.121 35.89 −5.88 * 15th −2 *
Alliance for Progressives (AP) 39,561 05.12 - 01 New
Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) 34,028 04.41 - 03 New
Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) 2,058 00.27 - - **
Real Alternative Party (RAP) 145 00.02 - - New
Independent 12,734 01.65 −1.46 - -
Allocated seats 6th -
Seats ex officio 2 -
total 772.208 83.51% 65
Eligible voters 924,709 - -
Source:

* Not included are the 20.43% and three mandates of the BCP that arose between the elections in the UDC
** Part of the UDC until 2018

42 MPs are new to parliament, eleven elected representatives have been confirmed, while the rest have returned to the National Assembly after a break. Many ministers were voted out.

Others

Local elections were held in the state at the same time as the parliamentary elections. A total of 490 members were elected.

An appeal by the UDC against the parliamentary election result for alleged electoral fraud was rejected by the competent court. An appeals court, however, set a hearing for the UDC on January 29, 2020. The appeal was rejected on the same day.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BDP poised to win 2019 polls - report. In: Weekend Post. January 14, 2019 ( weekendpost.co.bw ).
  2. ↑ a b Botswana sets October 23 date for national and local elections. africanews.com, September 2, 2019, accessed September 2, 2019
  3. ↑ Mokgweetsi Masisi's BDP wins Botswana general election. IOL, October 25, 2019.
  4. ↑ Boko unveils new UDC. Weekend Post, February 13, 2017.
  5. ↑ Seretse Khama's sons turn their backs on his party and join forces to oppose it. city-press.news24.com of September 26, 2019 (English), accessed on October 16, 2019.
  6. ↑ Menzi Ndhlovu: Khama's hand silently rocks Botswana. Mail & Guardian of October 17, 2019 (English), accessed October 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ Botswana, calm for decades, faces surprising election fight. In: The Washington Post . October 20, 2019 ( washingtonpost.com ), accessed October 20, 2019.
  8. ↑ a b Electoral system. IPU. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  9. ↑ Government website govbw.maps.arcgis.com (English), accessed on January 12, 2020
  10. ↑ 12th Parliament brings in 42 new faces. dailynews.gov.bw of October 28, 2019 (English), accessed on January 12, 2020
  11. ^ Everything you need to know about Botswana's 'tight' election. africanews.com of October 21, 2019, accessed October 22, 2019.
  12. ↑ Botswana court rejects opposition election fraud claims. ewn.co.za on December 24, 2019, accessed January 8, 2020
  13. ↑ Botswana opposition wins right to challenge election result. france24.com of January 8, 2020 (English), accessed on January 12, 2020
  14. ↑ Botswana: opposition loses bid to nullify election. modernghana.com of January 29, 2020 (English), accessed on January 29, 2020