Botswana's ruling BDP wins general elections

GABORONE

The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has won the Friday general election with a wide margin, propelling its leader, incumbent President Ian Khama, to form the next government.

The final results of 54 out of 57 constituencies showed that Khama's BDP had won 36 seats while the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) snatched 15 and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) got only three, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.

As had been expected, the BDP did particularly well in rural areas while UDC’s main support base was proven to be in urban areas with the latter having managed to win all urban parliamentary seats but one in Gaborone, the capital city.

UDC leader Duma Boko and his deputy Ndaba Gaolathe won seats in two separate Gaborone constituencies. The former is expected to become the leader of the opposition in parliament.

Early poll results showed that the BDP was going to win, assuring Khama of a second term in power. At this stage, four women, one from the opposition, won seats in the new parliament.

At its first meeting, the new parliament will elect four specially-nominated MPs who have traditionally come from the BDP because it has been the party in power since 1966 when the country gained independence from Britain.

The major upset of this election saw the country’s longest serving MP and BDP stalwart, Daniel Kwelagobe, losing his parliamentary seat to a UDC candidate. Kwelagobe became an MP for the first time in 1969 during the administration of Seretse Khama, the founding president and father of the current president.

Over the years, he entrenched himself in the party to become one of its most powerful, king-making members. When the results were first announced, he asked for a recount but the figure didn’t change.

Another major upset was of Kitso Mokaila who was running in a hotly-contested constituency near the border with South Africa. A former army captain, Mokaila is very close to Khama and had been rumored  as a possible choice for vice president.

To become vice president, a candidate has to be an elected member of parliament. Five BDP candidates who served as ministers in the last term, Mokaila included, lost in the election.

BCP was the biggest loser in this election. In the last parliament, the party had seven MPs and is now down to three with no chance of winning any further seats in the constituencies that have not yet been reported.

Its president Dumelang Saleshando lost to Phenyo Butale of UDC who joined the race only two months ago to replace UDC deputy president Gomolemo Motswaledi who died in a car accident.

BCP opted out of talks with other opposition parties that aimed to form what is now the UDC. Results indicate that the BDP would still have the majority even if the BCP had joined the opposition coalition.

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