Botswana elections: The ruling party wants to extend its 58-year rule | Election News

The Botswana Democratic Party remains the favorite despite the slow economic growth caused by the drop in demand for diamonds.

Botswana is voting in a national election where President Mokgweetsi Masisi needs a second term and his ruling party is hoping to extend its almost sixty years 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 favorite despite its waning popularity.

The BDP is facing divided opposition groups as the biggest challenge comes from the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), a coalition led by lawyer Duma Boko.

Other contenders for the presidency are Dumelang Saleshando from the Botswana Congress Party and Mephato Reatile from the Botswana Patriotic Front.

The BDP – among Africa's longest-ruling parties – retained its majority in parliament, having won 38 of the 57 seats contested in 2019.

Botswana is considered one of the most stable countries in Africa, but it is facing economic challenges due to the decline in demand for diamonds around the world that it relies on. It is the second largest producer of diamonds after Russia.

The country has struggled to consolidate its economy. Unemployment has risen to 27 percent this year and is particularly high among young people.

The BDP says it is listening to the complaints of voters and will pursue new ways to get money such as exploring mineral resources and developing the agriculture and tourism sectors.

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

Polls opened at 6:30am (04:30 GMT) for more than a million registered voters. The election is the one that will determine how the parliament is formed, and then later the members of Parliament will choose the president.

'The New Botswana'

“We are concerned about employment issues and salary structures,” Karabo Manguba, 29, a radio station sales executive told the Associated Press. “Voting is a patriotic endeavor, … and our voices need to be heard.”

Another voter, Lone Kobe, 38, told AFP: “It's my time to express my opinion. I can't wait anymore. … I would like to experience a new Botswana. We see a percentage of people enjoying the benefits.”

Masisi came to power in 2018 in a planned transition after his predecessor Ian Khama held office for 10 years. He kept the job after the 2019 election which was won by the BDP.

He was able to negotiate a new contract with the diamond giant, De Beers Group, to give Botswana a large share of its diamonds.

Diamonds make up more than 80 percent of Botswana's exports and a quarter of its gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank.

But Masisi acknowledged the decline in the markets.

“Our diamonds haven't sold since April so, yes, our income is down, but the fundamentals of the economy are still strong,” he said in a presidential briefing last week.

Sales of green diamonds in Debswana, a government-owned joint venture with De Beers, fell by nearly 50 percent in the first half of 2024, according to authorities.

Masisi also repealed the law prohibiting elephant hunting which he praised as benefiting rural communities, and he also closed the ban on the purchase of certain products to help farmers.

Opponents called for a revolution

The opposition parties say that the BDP has been in power for a long time and accuses them of economic mismanagement and corruption, which they deny.

“It is not acceptable that a country like ours, which ranks fifth per capita in Africa, still has many people who are living off their wealth,” said Boko of the UDC in this debate.

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