Botswana’s Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane on Friday announced the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has won the general election after securing 29 national assembly seats, representing 51% of the vote, required to form a government, reported Reuters.
The people of Botswana voted on Wednesday to elect 57 national assembly and 490 local government representatives, with the candidate of the ruling party set to become president.
“Although vote counting is still ongoing, the numbers of parliament seats attained so far by the BDP obliges me to declare Mokgweetsi Masisi as the elected president of Botswana,” the chief justice said.
According to 73% of the voting districts counted so far, the main opposition party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), got 13 seats while the Botswana Patriotic Front won three and the Alliance for Progressive only one.
The BDP has ruled since Botswana became independent from Britain in 1966. In May, former president Ian Khama renounced his hand-picked successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, when he stepped down last year following two terms in office. Khama, in fact, announced his support for the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
“We are going to … tackle the challenges the country is facing … improving the value chain of our national products, whether it’s in tourism or minerals,” Masisi said after voting on Wednesday in his home village of Moshupa. “This will help us achieve our goal of migrating towards a high-income country.”
Masisi is standing on his record on tackling corruption, such as making the declaration of assets obligatory for public sector officials. He has also overseen a sharp reduction in bureaucracy for small businesses.
Botswana has long been considered one of Africa’s most stable democracies. But, the diamond-rich country has struggled with high unemployment, which officially stands at 17 percent.
