Botswana - 2014 Election
Botswana has been a constitutional, multi-party republican democracy since independence in 1966. Its constitution provides for the indirect election of a president and the popular election of a National Assembly. In October the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) won the majority of parliamentary seats in an election deemed generally free and fair. President Ian Khama, who has held the presidency since the resignation of former president Festus Mogae in 2008, retained his position. The BDP has held the presidency and a majority of National Assembly seats since independence.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and other NGOs reported the government attempted to limit press freedom and continued to dominate domestic broadcasting. In 2008 parliament passed the Media Practitioners Act, which established a Media Council to register and accredit journalists, promote ethical standards among the media, and receive public complaints. Some NGOs, including MISA, the independent media, and opposition members of parliament, continued to criticize the law, stating it restricted press freedom and was passed without debate after the collapse of consultations between the government and stakeholders. Officials had not implemented the act by year’s end.
The government owned and operated the Botswana Press Agency, which dominated the print media through its free, nationally distributed newspaper, Daily News, and two state-operated FM radio stations. State-owned media generally featured reporting favorable to the government and were susceptible to political interference. Opposition political parties claimed state media coverage heavily favored the ruling party.
The independent media were active and generally expressed a wide variety of views, which frequently included strong criticism of the government; however, members of the media complained they were sometimes subject to government pressure to portray the government and the country in a positive light. Private media organizations had more difficulty obtaining access to government-held information than government-owned media.
Botswana, the world's largest diamond producer and a haven for luxury safari tourism, has been one of the world's fastest growing economies since the 1970s and has remained politically stable on a continent plagued by violence and corruption. The nation of 2 million sits third on Ibrahim Index of African Governance, behind the islands of Mauritius and Cape Verde and ahead of neighboring South Africa. About 824,000 registered voters were eligible to go to the polls 24 October 2014 to elect 57 lawmakers who would then choose the president. The BDP's stiffest opposition will come from the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), a coalition of parties including a breakaway BDP faction.
President Seretse Khama, the son of the southern African country's first president, promised jobs and improved water and electricity output if he wins another five years in office. The week before the election, Botswana's sole power station broke down, forcing it to rely on electricity from neighboring South Africa.
Khama's BDP are trusted by large swaths of the population who have benefited from free education and generous social welfare, paid for with revenues from diamond exports. They have brought education and helped the poor with jobs and housing. Economic growth, however, has slowed considerably in recent years and was just 1.6 percent in the second quarter of 2014. Economists says Botswana is too reliant on a bloated public sector and diamond exports, which account for one-third of GDP but could dry up in the next 15 years.
There was growing support for opposition parties who say change is needed with economic growth slowing and unemployment stuck at around 20 percent. Critics of Khama, a retired army general, say he has an authoritarian style, pointing to his forced evictions of bushmen out of their traditional hunting grounds in the Kalahari Desert, in what the president says is a drive to protect wildlife. The opposition has also accused the BDP of ordering the use of violence to suppress opponents, allegations strongly denied by the party. Some of the party's rivals described the death of charismatic politician Gomolemo Motswaledi in a car accident in July 2014, as “suspicious” - though, again, the ruling party denied any involvement. The media has also complained of harassment. One journalist fled to South Africa last month saying his life was in danger after writing a critical article about Khama, while his editor was briefly held by the police and data was confiscated.
On 24 October 2014 the ruling BDP won a majority of National Assembly seats in a general election deemed by international and domestic observers to be generally free and fair. President Seretse Khama Ian Khama's Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) retained its majority, taking 37 of the 57 directly elected seats. Opposition forces won a total of 20 seats. The Umbrella for Democratic Change coalition (UDC) won 17 seats, thereby becoming the largest ever opposition force in parliament. The Umbrella for Democratic Change coalition comprised the Botswana National Front (BNF, led by Mr. Duma Boko), the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD, led by Nehemiah Modubule) and the Botswana People's Party (BPP, led by Mr. Motlatsi Molapisi). The remaining three seats went to the Botswana Congress Party of Mr. Dumelang Saleshando. In all, 32 new MPs entered parliament.
The BDP - which has ruled the country since independence in 1966 - ran on the government's record, citing better health care programmes and its programme to end poverty by 2016. The UDC campaigned for a "clean and effective government". It promised to develop the economy and bring greater prosperity.
President Ian Khama retained the presidency, which he has held since 2008. On 28 October, President Khama was sworn in for a third term, having taken office in 2008 (the constitution limits the presidential term of office to a maximum of ten years). The following day, the newly elected members were sworn in to the National Assembly. On 12 November, it elected Mr. Mokgweetsi Masisi as Vice President.
There were six women in the 61-seat National Assembly, one of whom was the speaker and four of whom served in the 24-member cabinet. There was one female opposition member of parliament. There were also three women in the expanded 35-seat House of Chiefs. While the constitution formally recognizes eight principal tribes of the Tswana nation, amendments to the constitution also allow minority tribes to be represented in the expanded House of Chiefs. The law provides that members from all groups enjoy equal rights, and minority tribes have representation that is at least equal to that of the eight principal tribes.
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