Botswana’s Longtime Ruling Party Loses Vote In Political Earthquake

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

GABORONE (Worthy News) – In a political earthquake resonating throughout the region, voters in Botswana rejected the country’s governing party after 58 years in power.

The results of this weekend’s elections meant a setback for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which had ruled the diamond-rich southern African nation since gaining independence in 1966.

Official results showed that, with only four parliamentary seats as of Friday afternoon, the BDP will be replaced by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).

Analysts said the outcome was a warning to other long-ruling parties in Africa, as a growing number of people demand changes after years of corruption and poverty in several states.

In a phone call to UDC leader Duma Boko, President Mokgweetsi Masisi conceded and congratulated his opponent.

Despite overseeing a dramatic change in Botswana, recent poor economic growth and high unemployment in the mainly religiously Christian country dented the BDP’s popularity, according to analysts.

Masisi told reporters that the party “had got it wrong big time. “I will respectfully step aside and participate in a smooth transition process before the inauguration. I am proud of our democratic processes, and I respect the will of the people.”

CALL FOR CALM

He has urged his supporters to remain calm and rally behind the new government. Speaking to Boko on the phone, the outgoing president said: “You can count on me to always be there to provide whatever guidance you might want.”

In his first comments to the media since the outcome was clear, Boko, a 54-year-old former human rights lawyer, said: “What has happened today takes our democracy to a higher level. It now means we’ve seen a successful, peaceful, orderly democratic transition.”

He added: It’s a shock to me in terms of the numbers. I’m humbled, and I can only pledge to [the people of Botswana] that we’ll do the very best.”

This was the third time he had run as a presidential candidate. UDC and other opposition party supporters have been celebrating in the capital, Gaborone, and elsewhere in the country.

“I did not ever think I would witness this change in my life,” 23-year-old student Mpho Mogorosi, who had gone on to the streets of Gaborone, said. “The BDP had stayed too long in power and I am proud to be part of the people that removed them for a better Botswana,” she added.

It comes amid major economic and social upheaval as Botswana experienced one of the most rapid declines in fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The total reported fertility rate fell from more than five children per woman in the mid-1980s to about 2.4 in 2013 and remained at that level in 2022.

HIGH AIDS RATES

In 2021, Botswana had one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world at nearly 20 percent of the population of just over 2.4 million people, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and U.N. officials.

“Botswana is ranked among the top four countries in the world most affected by HIV and AIDS behind South Africa, eSwatini and Lesotho,” said the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

Among the 370,000 estimated people living with HIV in Botswana in 2018, 29,500 were young people aged 15-24, the majority of them female (64 percent). Of greater concern, three in every ten new HIV infections [which causes AIDS] in Botswana in 2018 occurred among adolescents and young people aged 15 – 24 years,” most of them women and girls, UNICEF noted.

However, comprehensive and effective treatment programs have reduced HIV/AIDS-related deaths, experts say. Unlike many other government officials, Botswana’s leaders have largely resisted the urge to steal or squander their commodity windfall instead of spending it on health, education, and social welfare, observers say.

Yet, official data shows that a downturn in the global diamond market caused economic growth to plummet this year to a projected 1 percent, while unemployment rose to 28 percent.

Botswana is the world’s top producer by value of diamonds, and it owns a 15 percent stake in diamond giant De Beers, a unit of Anglo American, the global mining firm that spans diamonds, platinum, copper, iron ore, and more.

Masisi negotiated a bigger share of the raw diamonds with the company last year. Boko said he would try to reach out to De Beers “as quickly as possible” to hear its concerns.

He also campaigned, pledging to raise the minimum wage and increase social grants. African analysts suggest that the election reminded governing parties in Africa that their political dominance would end without economic progress and employment opportunities.

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