President Masisi faces tough task to unite a divided nation

The southern African nation – with an estimated population of 2.2 million people - went to the polls on Wednesday pitting long time ruler Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) against the opposition coalition UDC. The two parties contested for the 57 national assembly seats and 490 local government representative seats.

By Friday afternoon, official parliamentary seats released pointed to an outright majority win (38/57) by the ruling BDP. Botswana’s Chief Justice, Terrence Rannowane, who by law is the national elections returning officer, announced that BDP’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi is the president-elect following his party’s victory in over 30 national assembly seats contest.

The 23 October vote outcome clearly shows that with no previous experience of any other party in power, Botswana nationals signalled their concern that any change could go horribly wrong by voting for the opposition.

The outcome also reflects a largely divided nation between two regions – south and north. The incoming President Masisi originates from the southern part of the country, which has traditionally voted for the opposition due to its large number of urban voters. On the other hand, the northern part of the country which had been traditionally voting for the BDP also turned the tables this time voting for the opposition – a change that is largely believed to have been influenced by the former President Ian Khama. Khama and his successor Masisi have been involved in a bitter war of words which saw the former quitting the BDP in early 2019 to form a new party – Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). The BPF now forms part of the minority parties in parliament after winning three seats while the UDC garnered 15 national assembly seats.

Given the results outcome and the ongoing tension between Masisi and his predecessor, political pundits on Friday said that the incoming President could face a tough battle in his quest to, among other things, fight corruption, implement major constitutional, economic and developmental changes.

During the campaigns, Masisi indicated that his main priority will be upholding the rule of law and eradicating poverty and corruption. Despite being minerals-rich, Botswana is ranked among the most unequal countries in the world, third to South Africa and Seychelles.

The country is also often called an African success story as its independence was achieved from Britain in 1966 without the bloodshed experienced by some of its neighbours. The country has never had a civil war and its elections are usually unmarred by violence.

By Friday, following the announcement of his victory, Masisi appealed to the opposition leaders and their supporters to accept defeat.

As if sensing some sort of resentment from opposition parties, Masisi called on the opposition leaders and their supporters to accept the Botswana Independent Electoral Commission ruling and to bear in mind that Botswana is a peaceful , nonviolent, respectful and humble nation. Masisi also sent an early caution that political interference to change the southern African nation’s culture for political gain will not be tolerated

“I appreciate that is vital for any country to have strong political opposition to ensure the ruling party is kept on its toes”, said Masisi in the capital Gaborone shortly after he was named as the new president.

Masisi’s sentiments came after at least three opposition Member of Parliament candidates rejected the outcome of the Wednesday vote citing irregularities on the side of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Polling generally proceeded smoothly across the vast sparsely populated country according to the electoral commission, except for one polling district where the local government elections were postponed to 23 November 2019. The commission said on Wednesday that the postponement was due to omission of a name of one of the contesting parties in the ballot paper. Immediately after the postponement announcement, the UDC leader Duma Boko swiftly moved through his Twitter Account to call the postponement as a source of concern as it could impact his party performance at the parliamentary seat race. The UDC however went on to win the national assembly seat for the area.

By Friday the electoral commission said it had not yet received any complaints about the votingfrom the opposition bloc or any contesting party. Botswana electoral laws allow that complainants to have up to 30 days to lodge petitions after results are declared. DM