GABORONE, Botswana — Polls opened in an election in Botswana on Wednesday and a country was set to decide if one of Africa’s longest-ruling parties stays in power for another five-year term.
The Botswana Democratic Party has been in power in the southern African nation for 58 years since independence from Britain in 1966. The one-day election will decide the makeup of Parliament and lawmakers will later elect the president.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi, a 63-year-old former high school teacher and United Nations employee, is seeking a second and final term.
Botswana has been held up as one of Africa’s success stories as a peaceful and stable democracy with one of the best standards of living in the region, but it is facing new economic challenges that have pushed the BDP to concede that policy change is needed.
That’s largely because of a global downturn in demand for diamonds, which Botswana’s economy relies on. Unemployment in the nation of some 2.5 million people has risen to 27% this year, and it’s significantly higher for young people.
The BDP says it has listened to the concerns of voters and is open to policy changes that could diversify an economy where diamonds account for more than 80% of Botswana’s exports and a quarter of the GDP, according to the World Bank.
Three men have registered to challenge Masisi for president: Duma Boko of the main opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change party, Dumelang Saleshando of the Botswana Congress Party and Mephato Reatile from the Botswana Patriotic Front.
Counting is expected to start straight after polls close Wednesday evening and the results could be announced within days.
While the BDP has dominated Botswanan politics since independence, recent economic uncertainty has closed the gap between it and the opposition, analysts say.
Botswana is the second biggest producer of diamonds behind Russia and has been responsible for all the biggest rough gems found in the past decade. But sales of rough diamonds at Debswana, the company the Botswana government jointly owns with the De Beers Group and a critical source of state revenue, were down nearly 50% in the first half of 2024, according to authorities. That has put a dent in the public purse and raised criticism of Masisi and the BDP for not taking steps to diversify the economy.
Government employees have received their salaries late as a result of the tight financial position, taking the shine off of Botswana’s reputation for efficient government.
Ahead of the election, the BDP said it would now put emphasis on processing mineral resources for new revenue streams, while also building the agriculture and tourism sectors.
Just over a million people have registered to vote, according to the Independent Electoral Commission. Botswana is larger than France but has a small population, with the Kalahari Desert covering large portions of the landlocked country that borders South Africa. Drought and desertification threaten Botswana’s development and the livelihoods of many of its people.
The election could also revive Masisi’s feud with former President Ian Khama, the man he succeeded as Botswana’s leader and then fell out with.
Khama, the son of Botswana’s founding president, quit the BDP and went into exile in South Africa in 2021, accusing Masisi of taking an authoritarian approach to criticism. Khama was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and receiving stolen property in a criminal case he said was politically motivated to silence him.
Khama returned to Botswana in September to attend a court hearing and has campaigned for the Botswana Patriotic Front in an attempt to oust Masisi.
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