Editing Politics of Botswana (section)

== History ==

=== Pre-statehood ===
The location of present-day Botswana was historically controlled by [[Bantu peoples]], primarily the [[Tswana people]]. Many legal traditions practiced by the Tswana people, such as respect for traditional authority and protection of [[Property rights (economics)|property rights]], have played a role in the development of post-colonial Botswana politics. Centralised political structures developed prior to colonisation have also been retained. Politics of the Tswana people prior to statehood was often led by chiefs, who continue to have a role in Botswana politics. In the early-19th century, these chiefdoms developed into [[nation state]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hjort |first=Jonas |date=2009-09-14 |title=Pre-colonial culture, post-colonial economic success? The Tswana and the African economic miracle: AFRICAN ECONOMIC MIRACLE |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0289.2009.00495.x |journal=The Economic History Review|volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=688–709 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-0289.2009.00495.x|pmid=20617585 |s2cid=44742736 }}</ref> These nation states incorporated [[limited government]] and ethnic [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralism]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Robinson |first1=James A. |last2=Parsons |first2=Q. Neil |date=2006 |title=State Formation and Governance in Botswana |url=https://academic.oup.com/jae/article-abstract/15/suppl_1/100/707094 |journal=Journal of African Economies |volume=15 |pages=100–139 |doi=10.1093/jae/ejk007}}</ref>

The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] first began influencing the region in the 1820s and the region became part of the [[British Empire]] in 1885 as the [[Bechuanaland Protectorate]]. The Tswana people were made subjects of [[the Crown]] and placed under [[British law]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hall |first=Kenneth O. |date=1973 |title=British Bechuanaland: The Price of Protection |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/216773 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=183–197 |doi=10.2307/216773 |jstor=216773 |issn=0361-7882}}</ref> The first significant movement for independence was led by the radical [[Bechuanaland People's Party]]. The [[Botswana Democratic Party]] (BDP) was formed by [[Seretse Khama]] in 1962 as part of a negotiated independence process.{{Sfn|Hillbom|Bolt|2018|p=74}} Botswana became self-governing in 1965 and it became an independent republic in 1966. The United Kingdom continued to invest in the country financially and pay some of its expenses through 1971.<ref name=":4" /> Institutions and traditions from both precolonial Tswana society and colonial British rule were retained following independence and continue to influence the politics of Botswana.{{Sfn|Hillbom|Bolt|2018|pp=12–13}}

=== Presidency of Seretse Khama ===

Upon receiving self-governance, the nation held the [[1965 Bechuanaland general election]], in which the BDP won a large victory. Of the 31 seats in the legislature, the BDP won 28. Three members of the Botswana People's Party made up the [[Parliamentary opposition|opposition]], all elected from relatively urbanised constituencies.{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=31}} The government under the first president, Seretse Khama, was based heavily on collaborative governance similar to that of the pre-colonial tribal governments. Policies were often considered by several ministries and a commission before being adopted.{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=56}} Khama also ensured that foreign involvement was welcome, opposed to a nationalism that restricted opportunity.{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=57}}

While Khama was president, his vice president, [[Quett Masire]], held considerable power as well. In addition to being the vice president, he was the minister of finance and he was the secretary general of the BDP. He oversaw a series of [[National Development Plan (Botswana)|National Development Plans]] that dispensed much of the government's policies.{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=58}} Regional instability prompted the creation of a military, the [[Botswana Defence Force]], in 1977. Prior to this, the [[Botswana Police Service]] handled all of the nation's security responsibilities.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last1=Beaulier |first1=Scott A. |last2=Subrick |first2=J. Robert |date=2006 |title=The Political Foundations of Development: The Case of Botswana |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10602-006-0002-x |journal=Constitutional Political Economy|volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=103–115 |doi=10.1007/s10602-006-0002-x |s2cid=59354401 |issn=1043-4062}}</ref><ref name=":10" /> The [[Botswana National Front]] (BNF) was founded by [[Kenneth Koma]] as a left-wing party and it became the opposition party in the [[1969 Botswana general election|1969 general election]].{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=33}}

=== Presidency of Quett Masire ===
Khama served as president until his death in 1980, at which point Vice President Masire became president. The opposition gained support in the 1980s and 1990s as the country urbanised and the BDP's rural [[political base]] shrank.{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=33}}

The [[Kgabo Commission]], part of a corruption controversy involving Vice President [[Peter Mmusi]] and BDP Secretary General [[Daniel Kwelagobe]], dominated the politics of Botswana in 1991 and brought about an era of factionalism in the BDP.<ref name="Ntuane" /><ref name=":16">{{Cite journal |last1=Lotshwao |first1=Kebapetse |last2=Suping |first2=Kekgaoditse |date=2013 |title=The 2010 split of the Botswana Democratic Party |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310771824 |journal=Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=343–360}}</ref> Mmusi's resignation led to [[Festus Mogae]] being chosen as the next vice president. The incident firmly established a growing factional conflict within the BDP. Mmusi and Kwelagobe formed one faction, the Big Two. [[Mompati Merafhe]] and his supporters—namely [[David Magang]], [[Bahiti Temane]], [[Roy Blackbeard]] and [[Chapson Butale]]—formed an opposing faction, the Big Five.<ref name="Ntuane" /> Merafhe later took on [[Jacob Nkate]] as his closest ally and they dubbed themselves the [[A-Team (Botswana)|A-Team]].<ref name=":16" /> The Big Two appealed the findings of the commission in court, but they were ultimately suspended from parliament. Their supporters then gained power after the [[1994 Botswana general election|1994 general election]]. Amid this inter-party conflict, the BNF became a significantly stronger opposition, winning thirteen seats.<ref name="Ntuane">{{Cite journal |last=Ntuane |first=Botsalo |date=2018 |title=President Festus Mogae: The Regent Who Became King |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/90026925 |journal=Botswana Notes and Records |volume=50 |pages=333–338 |jstor=90026925 |issn=0525-5090}}</ref> Kwelagobe aligned with [[Ponatshego Kedikilwe]] following Mmusi's death and they renamed themselves the [[Barata-Phathi]].<ref name=":16" />

After the BDP's poor performance in the 1994 election, South African academic [[Lawrence Schlemmer]] was brought in by the party to provide a political strategy. He recommended replacing the long-standing members of the BDP with newer, non-factional members, with a particular focus on the presidency.<ref name=":16" /> Multiple constitutional reforms were enacted in Botswana following [[1997 Botswana electoral reform referendum|a referendum]] in 1997: the vice president was designated the automatic successor of the president, the voting age was lowered to eighteen and an independent electoral commission was established.<ref name="Ntuane" /> These reforms were championed by Masire, as automatic succession allowed him to anoint a successor.<ref name="Ntuane" /><ref name=":16" />

=== 1998–present ===
Masire stepped down as president in 1998 and Vice President Mogae became president.{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=33}} He chose [[Ian Khama]] as vice president and while the two were nominally non-factional, they effectively supported the A-Team faction of Merafhe and Nkate. This caused the factional differences in the party to further escalate.<ref name=":16" /> A schism also formed in the oppositional BNF, which led to the creation of the [[Botswana Congress Party]] in 1998.{{Sfn|Hillbom|Bolt|2018|p=149}} Enough assemblymen defected that this new party became the primary opposition, but they were replaced by BNF candidates in the [[1999 Botswana general election|1999 general election]].{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=34}}

Mogae's tenure as president ended in 2008 and Ian Khama, the son of President Seretse Khama, became president.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 October 2008 |title=Botswana's Mogae wins $5m award |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2008/10/21/botswanas-mogae-wins-5m-award |access-date=2023-09-30 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref> The BDP underwent its first split in 2010 when Khama encouraged the Barata-Phathi faction to leave the party and they formed the [[Botswana Movement for Democracy]], led by [[Gomolemo Motswaledi]].<ref name=":16" /> [[Freedom House]] lowered Botswana's rating in the 2010s as a crackdown took place against journalists.<ref name=":17">{{Cite journal |last1=Seabo |first1=Batlang |last2=Nyenhuis |first2=Robert |date=2021 |title=Botswana's 2019 General Elections: A Referendum on General Ian Khama |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S000202062100069X/type/journal_article |journal=African Studies Review|volume=64 |issue=4 |pages=854–883 |doi=10.1017/asr.2021.69 |s2cid=244539238 |issn=0002-0206}}</ref>

Khama stepped down in 2018 and Vice President [[Mokgweetsi Masisi]] became president. He immediately reversed Khama's policies and replaced top officials who had been appointed by Khama. The two former allies quickly became political rivals and Khama defected from the Botswana Democratic Party. He instead aligned with the newly formed [[Botswana Patriotic Front]] in addition to supporting the Umbrella for Democratic Change. This made the [[2019 Botswana general election|2019 general election]] the first competitive election in the nation's history, but the BDP remained in power with 52.7% of the total vote, winning 38 of the 57 seats in the assembly.<ref name=":17" /> The rivalry significantly escalated when Masisi's pursued criminal charges against Khama for illegal ownership of firearms in 2022, causing Khama to seek asylum in South Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ndebele |first=Lenin |title=Ex-Botswana president Ian Khama vows to make successor 'one-term' president |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/africa/news/ex-botswana-president-ian-khama-vows-to-make-successor-one-term-president-20230412 |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=News24}}</ref>

===Opposition's rise to power===

In the run-up to the [[2024 Botswana general election]], the opposition was splintered, therefore it was thought that BDP would cruise to a comfortable victory again. Despite this division, opposition UDC was able to gain an outright majority of seats in the parliament and [[Duma Boko]] was elected to the Presidency. The BDP was relegated to fourth place.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Botswana election: BDP party loses power after nearly six decades to Duma Boko's UDC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c238n5zr51yo |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Botswana opposition wins election; BDP ousted from power after 58 years |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/1/botswanas-ruling-party-loses-power-after-six-decades-early-results-show |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> Masisi peacefully conceded defeat and handed over power to the opposition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Savage |first=Rachel |date=2024-11-01 |title=Botswana president concedes defeat in election after party’s six-decade rule |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/01/botswana-president-mokgweetsi-masisi-concedes-defeat-election-six-decade-rule |access-date=2024-11-02 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>