In a geological time of change for the nation that ended the ruling group’s 58 years in power since it gained independence from Britain in the 1960s, Botswana’s leader Mokgweetsi Masisi conceded defeat in the general election on Friday.
His Botswana Democratic Party came close to making a final decision before the final results were announced, leading the way in what appeared to be a heartbreaking rejection by the electorate and a disaster victory for the main opposition party.
Duma Boko, the candidate for president of a southern African nation that is one of the country’s biggest producers of collected diamonds, was in a clear lead in the fractional results, which gave the criticism Umbrella for Democratic Change an enormous lead in the limited results.
Masisi claimed to have called Boko to let him know that he was accepting his battle and that Boko had become the president-elect.
The BDP had no chance of gaining a lot, but the final results were anticipated to be released later on Friday.
” I concede the vote”, Masisi said in an early-morning press conference two weeks after the vote. ” I am glad of our political processes. Even though I wished for a second term, I may politely step aside and take part in a clean transition.
” I look forward to observing and applauding my son at the upcoming commencement. He will love my help”.
Masisi’s BDP dominated elections in Botswana for roughly six years, since independence in 1966. For the first time in its background of democracy, the country’s 2.5 million people will now be led by another party.
According to the standard limited matter, the Umbrella for Democratic Change has so far won 25 of the 61 political seats decided by voters. It needs 31 to win a lot. The decision BDP only has three seats, while the ruling party, the Botswana Patriotic Front, has five, and the Congress Party, has seven.
” We lost this vote massively”, Masisi said.
With a diamond-based business and one of the highest standards of living in the region, Botswana has been hailed as one of Africa’s most firm governments, which is regarded as a post-colonial accomplishment story. Botswana is the second-largest supplier of natural diamonds in the world after Russia, and it has produced all the largest diamonds recently.
However, Botswana faces fresh challenges, and the need for change became clear as the market suffered a significant blow from a decline in the world’s demand for diamonds, making it the main focus of the strategy.
As the authorities saw a sharp decline in revenue from diamonds, the unemployment rate increased by more than 27 % this year, which is significantly higher for younger people. Asisi and his party were criticized for not diversifying the economy enough, and the country has been forced to impose new poverty methods.
Perhaps the BDP made it clear throughout its campaign that policy change was necessary and that it was able to persuade voters that it was capable of lifting the nation out of its financial difficulties. Diamond account for more than 80 % of Botswana’s imports and a fourth of its GDP, according to the World Bank.
Masisi claimed that the nation had barely sold any gemstones since April through its Debswana firm, which the government owns separately from diamond miner De Beers.
Botswana’s general primaries decide the beauty of its Parliament, and politicians then choose the leader. The party’s candidate for president has the power to select a majority. All five of Botswana’s post-independence leaders have been from the BDP.
Boko is a 54-year-old prosecutor and Harvard Law School graduate who also ran in 2014 and 2019. He posted a photo of a UDC campaign poster with the phrases” Change is These” on his official site on X:” Botswana First.”
After what was anticipated to be a close race, the BDP emerged as one of the longest-serving events also in power in Africa. The long-ruling African National Congress lost its 30-year lot in an election in May, prompting an equally significant change in neighboring South Africa, where it was forced to retake control of the coalition government for the first time.
Masisi, a 63-year-old former high school teacher and UNICEF staff, said he had not expected the benefits and had” never packed a shoe”.
