Botswana's political system

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The political system of Botswana is mainly due to the Constitution regulated.

Constitution

The current constitution dates from 1965 and came into force with the independence of the Republic of Botswana in 1966. In 2005 the constitution was partially amended.

executive

The head of state is the president , since 2018 Mokgweetsi Masisi . He heads the cabinet and may serve for up to ten years. The President is elected by the National Assembly. The vice-president , who is appointed by the president, is his deputy. Like the ministers, both belong to the cabinet, as does the Secretary to the Cabinet .

legislative branch

The legislative chamber, the National Assembly ( National Assembly ). It consists of 64 or 65 members, 57 of them by direct election in as many constituencies are determined. In addition, there is the president, the speaker of parliament - if he is not already a member of parliament - and six mandate holders proposed by the president and elected by the national assembly (up to the 2014 election: four). The National Assembly is elected every five years. If a parliamentarian is eliminated, a by-election takes place.

The conditions for eligibility for the National Assembly are described in section 61 of the Constitution with the following characteristics:

  • Candidates must be citizens of Botswana.
  • You must have reached the age of 18.
  • They must be qualified to be entered on the electoral roll as Elected Members of the National Assembly .
  • They must be able to speak, notwithstanding certain other physical handicaps, they must have a good command of English to enable them to participate effectively in Parliament's business.

Simultaneous membership in the House of Chiefs is excluded ( section 62, number 1 d ).

The House of Chiefs or Ntlo Ya Dikgosi does not have its own legislative competence, although it is constitutionally involved in the legislative process ( section 85 ). This chamber has 33 to 35 members. Twelve members come from the group of traditional rulers ( Setswana : dikgosi ), five people are appointed by the president and up to 20 members, mostly other traditional rulers, are determined by different procedures depending on the area, for example by election by other dikgosi . It advises the legislative body and public administrations. After section 85 of the Constitution, rights for submissions and hearings.

The requirements for eligibility for the Ntlo Ya Dikgosi are laid down in section 79 of the constitution:

  • Candidates must be citizens of Botswana.
  • You must have reached the age of 21.

Simultaneous membership in the National Assembly is excluded ( section 79, number 2 g ). There are a total of seven reasons for denying membership in this chamber.

The constitution empowers parliament to act with the primary goals of its legislative practice on peace , rule of law and good governance for Botswana ( section 86 : "... make laws for the peace, order and good government of Botswana.").

Both chambers are based in the capital Gaborone .

Since the 2019 election, the National Assembly has been composed as follows (based on the 57 seats allocated by election):

The first elections were held in 1961. At that time, Botswana's Europeans elected 10 members to the legislative assemblies. The black population, including women, was granted ten indirectly elected members, plus two nominees from each ethnic group and ten colonial officials. Universal active and passive suffrage for all women and men was guaranteed in the pre-independence constitution on March 1, 1965, and this was confirmed in 1966 when Botswana became independent. The proportion of women in the National Assembly was around nine percent from 2014 to 2019, which is low by African standards.

Judiciary

The legal system of Botswana, like that of South Africa, is based on a hybrid of the Anglo-American system of common law and the Roman Dutch Law , a common law of Dutch character, which is derived from Roman law . There are also traditional forms of jurisdiction at the local level.

The Botswana High Court is headed by the Chief Justice - who is appointed by the President. Above it stands the Court of Appeal with the President , which also includes the Chief Justice .

Other bodies and officials specified by the constitution at national level

  • The Attorney-General is the government's chief legal advisor.
  • The Director of Public Prosecutions (for example: "Director of Public Prosecution") is the chief prosecutor .
  • The Independent Electoral Commission ensures the proper conduct of the elections.
  • The Auditor-General is the country's chief auditor.

Municipal level

Districts of Botswana (excluding self-governing cities)

Botswana is divided into ten districts and six self-governing cities. In addition to the city of Francistown , the administrative units have a council (“Council”).

Human rights

The constitution guarantees compliance with human rights . However, Amnesty International documented a number of violations. The 2017 annual report criticizes the fact that the right to freedom of expression and assembly was partially restricted. A journalist was prosecuted for “ sedition ”. Demonstrations were partially banned. One man was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for homosexual relationships. The death penalty is practiced occasionally.

Memberships

Botswana is a member of the United Nations , the African Union , the Commonwealth of Nations and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) , among others . Gaborone is the seat of the SADC.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Constitution of Botswana at constituteproject.org (English; PDF), accessed on October 25, 2017
  2. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 46.
  3. ↑ June Hannam, Mitzi Auchterlonie, Katherine Holden: International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-57607-064-6 , p. 8.
  4. ↑ Phillimon Mmeso: Botswana trailing behind on women in politics. thepatriot.co.bw of August 17, 2015 (English), accessed January 18, 2018
  5. ↑ AI Annual Report 2017 Botswana , accessed October 25, 2017