Botswana Opens Polls for General Elections

It is a busy day in Botswana as voters head to the polls today for crucial general elections in one of Africa’s most stable democracies.

It is expected that over 900,000 registered voters will cast their ballots across the country to elect members of the national assembly and by extension the president of the southern African nation.

To allow for full participation of citizens in thee electoral process, the government declared October 23 – 25 as public holidays.

The country’s polls opened on Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) for a general election that is expected to provide the first genuine challenge to the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in its five decades of dominance.

Out of Botswana’s total population of 2.2 million people, 924,000 registered voters will elect 57 national assembly and 490 local government representatives. Polls close at 7 p.m.

Duma Boko, leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change, is hoping to unseat the BDP of President Mokgweetsi Masisi with the campaign promises to drive that economic transformation.

He is backed by former president Ian Khama, who handed over to Masisi last year but has since fallen into a bitter power struggle with him.

“We remain resolute and confident that we are going to win this election,” Boko told a news conference on Monday night before warning of possible fraud.

“I can only accept the result if the election is free and credible,” he added, raising the spectre that Botswana, which has only known one-sided elections, could witness its first rancorous dispute over a tight result.

The main concerns for the Batswana are unemployment hovering at around 20% and stark inequalities despite equitable state spending on health and education. To tackle either, the winner will need to do more to diversify the economy.