Botswana is set for its first change of governing party in 58 years after president Mokgweetsi Masisi conceded defeat in the general election.
Mr Masisi’s Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which had held power in the southern African country since independence from Britain in 1966, was in fourth place in the parliamentary elections, after winning three of the 61 seats available.
He conceded defeat on Friday morning, before final results were announced, signalling a victory for the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), which had taken 25 seats to that point, needing 31 seats to clinch a majority.
Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) presidential candidate Duma Boko voting in the capital, Gaborone. Pic: AP
Minor parties held 12 seats, leaving the BDP with no path to a majority after a humbling rejection by voters.
Mr Masisi, 63, told reporters at an early morning news conference his party had “lost this election massively”.
Mr Masisi said he had called Duma Boko, the UDC’s presidential candidate, and told him he was now effectively the president-elect.
“I concede the election,” Mr Masisi said in an early-morning press conference two days after the vote.
“I am proud of our democratic processes. Although I wanted a second term, I will respectfully step aside and participate in a smooth transition process.”
He promised to support his successor and said he was even looking forward to being at his inauguration.
Mr Masisi’s BDP dominated politics in Botswana, one of the world’s biggest producers of mined diamonds, for nearly six decades, since the end of colonial rule.
The nation of just 2.5 million people will now be governed by another party for the first time in its democratic history.
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One of Africa’s most stable democracies, Botswana is seen as a post-colonial success story having built one of the highest standards of living in the region through an economy that largely relies on diamonds.
Botswana is the world’s second biggest natural diamond producer behind Russia and has been responsible for all the
biggest diamonds found in the last decade.
But a downturn in the global demand for the precious stones has damaged the economy, leading to 27% unemployment which has been significantly higher for young people.
Economic hardships dominated the campaign, as the BDP was criticised for not having done enough to diversify the economy, forcing it to adopt recent austerity measures.
Diamonds account for more than 80% of Botswana’s exports and a quarter of its GDP, according to the World Bank.
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Mr Boko, 54, posted on his official page on X: “Botswana First” with a picture of a UDC campaign poster.
The BDP was one of the longest-serving parties in Africa still in power and its landslide defeat came as a shock similar to that in its neighbour, South Africa, where the African National Congress lost its majority for the first time in 30 years in May.
