Berliner Boersenzeitung - Botswana votes with ruling party aiming to extend six decades of power

EUR -
AED 3.973379
AFN 72.895147
ALL 98.366008
AMD 417.753709
ANG 1.945655
AOA 986.036662
ARS 1068.514566
AUD 1.650375
AWG 1.947188
AZN 1.834097
BAM 1.955115
BBD 2.179757
BDT 129.004824
BGN 1.955902
BHD 0.407657
BIF 3137.730221
BMD 1.081771
BND 1.430912
BOB 7.459388
BRL 6.232624
BSD 1.079532
BTN 90.746222
BWP 14.491193
BYN 3.532963
BYR 21202.715136
BZD 2.176058
CAD 1.505663
CDF 3147.954225
CHF 0.938496
CLF 0.036952
CLP 1019.622369
CNY 7.717787
CNH 7.701448
COP 4718.696707
CRC 554.203365
CUC 1.081771
CUP 28.666936
CVE 110.2264
CZK 25.353448
DJF 192.244456
DKK 7.460457
DOP 65.018133
DZD 144.280824
EGP 52.693057
ERN 16.226568
ETB 129.004017
FJD 2.467087
FKP 0.827738
GBP 0.831844
GEL 2.953406
GGP 0.827738
GHS 17.542857
GIP 0.827738
GMD 75.197369
GNF 9310.825563
GTQ 8.345078
GYD 225.860907
HKD 8.405979
HNL 27.232715
HRK 7.452354
HTG 142.271494
HUF 405.49973
IDR 17015.07072
ILS 4.027099
IMP 0.827738
INR 90.943908
IQD 1414.217836
IRR 45547.975558
ISK 148.506141
JEP 0.827738
JMD 170.789403
JOD 0.766868
JPY 165.880412
KES 139.256112
KGS 92.813667
KHR 4388.503781
KMF 492.692348
KPW 973.593818
KRW 1496.11145
KWD 0.331736
KYD 0.899693
KZT 529.209571
LAK 23666.712282
LBP 96727.427546
LKR 317.028981
LRD 207.281246
LSL 19.121181
LTL 3.194189
LVL 0.654353
LYD 5.211223
MAD 10.650071
MDL 19.351134
MGA 4990.344721
MKD 61.593431
MMK 3513.550597
MNT 3675.858501
MOP 8.638975
MRU 42.685052
MUR 49.998851
MVR 16.615803
MWK 1871.979071
MXN 21.704766
MYR 4.750014
MZN 69.136425
NAD 19.121181
NGN 1775.802871
NIO 39.726456
NOK 11.853529
NPR 145.195497
NZD 1.813757
OMR 0.416497
PAB 1.079522
PEN 4.063415
PGK 4.323526
PHP 63.0878
PKR 299.845585
PLN 4.340175
PYG 8594.069934
QAR 3.936022
RON 4.974635
RSD 117.06915
RUB 105.472215
RWF 1468.17908
SAR 4.062528
SBD 9.014985
SCR 14.858132
SDG 650.694392
SEK 11.505015
SGD 1.433109
SHP 0.827738
SLE 24.546105
SLL 22684.197308
SOS 616.981091
SRD 37.135059
STD 22390.479347
SVC 9.44578
SYP 2717.982834
SZL 19.126391
THB 36.488278
TJS 11.497174
TMT 3.786199
TND 3.343929
TOP 2.533619
TRY 37.092885
TTD 7.316438
TWD 34.675112
TZS 2947.826672
UAH 44.651689
UGX 3956.614455
USD 1.081771
UYU 44.924268
UZS 13802.166694
VEF 3918772.931288
VES 45.62094
VND 27406.672856
VUV 128.43008
WST 3.03024
XAF 655.724345
XAG 0.03207
XAU 0.000397
XCD 2.923541
XDR 0.811431
XOF 655.733434
XPF 119.331742
YER 270.794409
ZAR 19.107703
ZMK 9737.239573
ZMW 28.7432
ZWL 348.329879
  • RELX

    -0.2500

    47.91

    -0.52%

  • SCS

    -0.3800

    12.21

    -3.11%

  • RYCEF

    0.0400

    7.25

    +0.55%

  • RBGPF

    62.3500

    62.35

    +100%

  • BTI

    -0.4500

    34.46

    -1.31%

  • RIO

    0.4000

    66.58

    +0.6%

  • GSK

    0.2900

    38.17

    +0.76%

  • NGG

    -0.8800

    65.12

    -1.35%

  • CMSC

    -0.1600

    24.57

    -0.65%

  • BP

    -1.6900

    29.36

    -5.76%

  • BCE

    -0.2300

    32.46

    -0.71%

  • BCC

    -6.9800

    131.64

    -5.3%

  • AZN

    -0.7900

    75.22

    -1.05%

  • VOD

    -0.2600

    9.28

    -2.8%

  • JRI

    -0.0900

    12.98

    -0.69%

  • CMSD

    -0.0400

    24.84

    -0.16%

Botswana votes with ruling party aiming to extend six decades of power
Botswana votes with ruling party aiming to extend six decades of power / Photo: Phill Magakoe - AFP

Botswana votes with ruling party aiming to extend six decades of power

Southern Africa's diamond-rich nation of Botswana votes in general elections Wednesday, with the ruling party seeking to extend its nearly six-decade rule and hand a second term to President Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Text size:

More than a million people are registered to vote after polls open at 6:30 am (0430 GMT), with four presidential candidates in the race to head the region's oldest democracy, installed on independence from Britain in 1966 when the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) took office.

Voters in the arid and sparsely populated country have voiced concerns about an economic slowdown and unemployment that has reached 27 percent, amid claims of government corruption and mismanagement.

But the ruling party has batted away the criticism and points to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, with weakened demand for diamonds also chipping away at revenues.

"In 2019, we had a clean sweep of Gaborone," Masisi, 63, told around 400 cheering supporters at a final late-night rally in the capital late Tuesday. "This year, I want to polish," the eloquent US-educated former school teacher said.

Dressed entirely in the red colours of the BDP, Queen Mosiane, 34, said she was loyal to the party because its government had supported her when she became an orphan, including with education and healthcare that is covered by the state.

"We live peacefully in this country because of BDP," she said. "It's not time to change because we don't know what are we inviting."

"The opportunities that we find, and our kids are going to find in the future, are because of the BDP," said civil servant Refile Kutlwano, 34, at the same rally. "The opposition is not ready to rule."

Masisi was elected in 2019 with around 52 percent of the vote. While the party is not expected to fare much better this time, the opposition is divided.

- Divided opposition -

The main opposition alliance is the left-leaning Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), led by human rights lawyer, Duma Boko, 54.

It lost two key members in the run-up to voting day with the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) quitting and each fielding their own presidential candidates.

It was a blow to voters like Ookeditse Letshwenyo, 23, who saw the UDC offering opportunities to young people struggling to find jobs that pay beyond the minimum wage of around 1,500 pula ($110 dollars) a month.

"Since our independence we've been ruled by the same people, with the same mindset, with the same goals," said Letshwenyo, who has launched an IT start-up. "You can't win against the BDP while you are divided," he said.

While the surprise return six weeks ago from three years of self-exile of the previous president Ian Khama to campaign against Masisi added some energy to the opposition, analysts said his influence was limited to a few districts.

In the lead-up to voting day, opposition groups made various claims of irregularities by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), including failing to share a digital version of the voters roll and a shortage of ballot papers in early voting for security personnel.

Despite some disillusionment around the ruling party, with its "historical momentum and the limping opposition, the BDP’s path to victory appears not only likely but increasingly evident," the independent Mmegi newspaper said.

With 61 seats up for grabs in parliament, Botswana's first-past-the-post system means that the first party to take 31 seats will be declared the winner and install its candidate as president.

Counting will start in the hours after polling stations close at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) Wednesday with results due late Thursday, IEC spokesperson Osupile Marob said.

(P.Werner--BBZ)