Botswana’s ruling party loses power after six decades, early results show

President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Botswana Democratic Party loses parliamentary bulk successful daze defeat.

Botswana’s governing enactment has suffered a daze predetermination decision aft astir six decades successful power, preliminary predetermination results show.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) mislaid its grip connected powerfulness connected Friday aft absorption parties won 31 of 61 seats successful parliament, tallies released by the electoral committee showed.

The BDP, which has governed the diamond-rich Southern African federation since 1966, had won lone 1 spot arsenic of aboriginal Friday morning.

Umbrella for Democratic Change, led by Harvard University-trained quality rights lawyer Duma Boko, won 19 seats and the Botswana Congress Party, headed by economist Dumelang Saleshando, took seven, according to the aboriginal tallies.

Botswana Patriotic Front, established by followers of erstwhile President Ian Khama aft his exit from the BDP, secured 5 seats.

Under Botswana’s constitution, the enactment that holds a bulk of parliamentary seats tin take the president and signifier a government.

Masisi, a 63-year-old erstwhile precocious schoolhouse teacher and UNICEF worker, had been wide expected to support his parliamentary bulk and service a 2nd and last term.

Often held up arsenic 1 of Africa’s top occurrence stories, Botswana ranks among the wealthiest and astir unchangeable democracies connected the continent.

But a planetary downturn successful request for mined diamonds, which relationship for much than 80 percent of the Southern African exports, has taken a toll connected the economy.

Economic maturation is expected to dilatory to 1 percent successful 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund, down from 2.3 percent past twelvemonth and 5.5 percent successful 2022, portion unemployment has risen to 27 percent.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies