The results of Botswana’s general elections were out yesterday, with the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) proclaimed as the winner. BDP won 29 national assembly seats, representing 51% of the vote. The country went for elections on 23rd October to elect 57 national assembly and 490 local government representatives. Almost 73% of the voting districts have been counted so far. The main opposition, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), managed to get 13 seats while the Botswana Patriotic Front won three and the Alliance for Progressive only one as of now. Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane announced that though vote counting was still on, the numbers of parliament seats attained so far by the BDP obliged him to declare Mokgweetsi Masisi as the elected president of Botswana.
Botswana got its independence from Britain in 1966. Soon after that, the economy started growing recording a growth of 8% a year. However, due to its over-dependence on a single commodity – diamonds, the economy started facing various challenges. To prevent the deepening crisis, the BDP will now have to act fast to transform the economy.
Masisi, 58, has established a reputation of tackling corruption with a stern hand, adopting measures such as making the declaration of assets mandatory for public sector officials. He also brought down bureaucracy for small businesses. In his election speech he promised to continue his efforts to revive the economy by improving the value chain of national products.
