Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi has announced his intention to “step aside” following a significant defeat of his party in the recent general elections, as indicated by preliminary results.
Naija News understands that the
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has governed the diamond-rich nation
since gaining independence from Britain in 1966, faced a challenging electoral
outcome.
While the official results from
Wednesday’s election are anticipated to be released by the electoral commission
later on Friday, initial counts reveal that three opposition parties have
collectively secured at least 31 out of 61 seats in the national legislature.
According to Botswana’s
electoral regulations, the first party to achieve 31 seats will be declared the
victor and will have the authority to appoint its candidate as president.
“I wish to congratulate the
opposition on their victory and concede the election,” Masisi told journalists
during a press conference Friday morning, adding it had been “a good journey”.
Masisi, who took office in
2018, said he would “begin all administrative work to facilitate the
transition.”
“We are quite happy to retreat
into being a loyal opposition and to hold the government accountable,” said the
63-year-old leader who had been confident of securing a second term.
The opposition coalition,
Umbrella for Democratic Change, which leans towards the left, has obtained over
24 seats, as reported by party official Mike Keakopa to AFP.
The coalition is striving to
achieve a total of 31 seats in order to secure a definitive victory.
Should this be validated, their
candidate, Duma Boko, a human rights attorney educated at Harvard, would assume
the presidency.
Additionally, the other two
opposition parties, the Botswana Congress Party and the Botswana Patriotic
Front, collectively garnered approximately a dozen seats.
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