Botswana elections: Ruling party seeks to extend 58 years in power 

Botswana is voting in a general election in which President Mokgweetsi Masisi is seeking a second term and his ruling party hopes to extend its nearly six decades in power.

Masisi, 63, is competing against three challengers on Wednesday for another five-year term. His Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) – which has governed the country of 2.3 million people for 58 years, since independence from British rule in 1966 – remains the favourite despite its decreasing popularity.

The BDP faces a divided opposition with its biggest challenge coming from the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), a coalition led by lawyer Duma Boko.

Also running for president are Dumelang Saleshando of the Botswana Congress Party and Mephato Reatile from the Botswana Patriotic Front.

The BDP – among Africa’s longest ruling parties – retains a majority in parliament, having won 38 of 57 contested seats in 2019.

Botswana is considered to be one of the most stable countries in Africa, but it is facing economic challenges because of the global downturn in the demand for diamonds, which it relies on. It is the second biggest producer of diamonds after Russia.

The country has struggled to diversify its economy. Unemployment has risen to 27 percent this year and is significantly higher for young people.

An election poster of President Mokgweetsi Masisi in Gaborone, Botswana [Themba Hadebe/AP Photo]

The BDP says it has listened to the concerns of voters and will pursue new revenue streams such as processing mineral resources and developing the agriculture and tourism sectors.

One of its campaign slogans has been “Changing Together, Building Prosperity”.

Polls opened at 6:30am (04:30 GMT) for more than one million people registered to vote. The election will determine the makeup of parliament, and lawmakers will later elect the president.

‘New Botswana’

“We are concerned about issues of employment and wage structures,” Karabo Manguba, a 29-year-old sales executive at a radio station told The Associated Press news agency. “Voting is a patriotic effort, … and our voices need to be heard.”

Another voter, 38-year-old Lone Kobe, told the AFP news agency: “It is my time to voice my opinion. I can’t wait. … I would like to experience a new Botswana. We are seeing a percentage of the population enjoying the benefits.”

Masisi came to power in 2018 through a planned transition after his predecessor Ian Khama served the maximum 10 years in office. He kept the job after a 2019 election won by the BDP.

He managed to negotiate a new contract with diamond giant, the De Beers Group, to give Botswana a greater share of its rough diamonds.

Diamonds account for more than 80 percent of Botswana’s exports and a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank.

But Masisi acknowledged the downturn in the market.

“Our diamonds have not been selling since April so, yes, our revenues are down, but the economic fundamentals still remain intact,” he said at a presidential debate last week.

Sales of rough diamonds at Debswana, the company the government jointly owns with De Beers, were down nearly 50 percent in the first half of 2024, according to the authorities.

Masisi also lifted a ban on elephant hunting, which he lauded as benefitting rural communities, and instated an import ban on some produce items to help farmers.

Opponents vying for change

The opposition says the BDP has been in power for too long and accuse it of economic mismanagement and corruption, which it denies.

“It is not acceptable that a country such as ours, which is the fifth richest per capita in Africa, still has so many people living in poverty,” the UDC’s Boko said at the debate.

The UDC has pledged to more than double the minimum wage from 1,500 pula ($112) per month to 4,000 pula ($300) if it wins.

Umbrella for Democratic Change supporters at a rally in Tlokweng, east of Gaborone [File: Thalefang Charles/Reuters]