Botswana: Subsequent political developments (1997-2000)

Extracted from: "Botswana" IN Compendium of Elections in Southern Africa (2002), edited by Tom Lodge, Denis Kadima and David Pottie, EISA, 39-40.

President Masire retired at the end of March 1998 and, as required by Botswana's recent constitutional provisions for the presidential succession, the president was succeeded by the vice-president, in this case Festus Gontebanye Mogae. Born in 1939, Festus Mogae is from one of the smaller Tswana subgroups (the Lete). He was appointed as minister of finance and development planning in 1989, a portfolio which he retained on becoming vice-president in 1992 -similar to Masire when he was vice-president. (Mogae replaced Peter Mmusi who had to resign as vice-president, having being implicated by an inquiry into the illegal transfer of state land.) During his career as a financial and planning technocrat Mogae represented Botswana at the IMF and the World Bank and was governor of the Bank of Botswana (the central batik) until 1982. Prior to and during the 1984 elections, Mogae served as the supervisor of elections. From 1989 to 1994 he was an appointed member of the National Assembly but was elected in that year's general election as the BDP member for Palapye.

While serving as the country's vice-president Mogae did not occupy a party post and kept aloof from the so called factions within the party. However, amendments to the party's constitution (November 1995) prepared the ground for the vice-president to become the party leader should he succeed to the presidency in the period between party elections for the party leadership; these take place every five years before a National Assembly election. Thus Mogae automatically became BDP leader when he replaced Masire as president and his party leadership was confirmed at the next party election, in 1999.

The vice-presidency is of key importance because the occupant is the next president of Botswana. President Mogae chose to nominate Lieutenant-General Ian Khama, the head of the defence force, for this position, though Khama first had to resign from his military post (end March 1998). Moreover, unlike the president who is an ex-officio member of the National Assembly, the vice-president and cabinet ministers are required by the constitution to be either elected or appointed members. As the Serowe North constituency had become vacant, Khama successfully contested it for the BDP in a by-election held in July and was subsequently confirmed as vice-president by the National Assembly. (The Palapye constituency, vacated by Mogae, was also retained by the BDP, though the voter turnout in both constituencies was very low).

Born in 1953, Ian Khama is the eldest son of Seretse and Ruth Khama. After military training in the early 1970s, he pursued a military career and, in 1989, succeeded Lieutenant-General Mompati Merafhe as military chief when he was taken into the cabinet. Meanwhile, in 1979, Khama had been installed as kgosi or paramount chief of the Ngwato, a position that his father was compelled to renounce in 1956. Having by that time already been a military officer, Khama was excused from his duties as paramount chief, an arrangement which is likely to be perpetuated during his political career.

By this time the long-standing divisions within the Botswana National Front had become irreconcilable -much to the disappointment of people who wanted to see the development of an alternative government. The main division was between Dr Koma, the party leader, and members of the party's central committee who had become tired of Koma's authoritarian leadership style. Apparently, Koma's opponents also regarded his leftist views as an obstacle to the party's ambition to defeat the government at a future election. The final split came in June 1998 when delegates to a BNF conference, including 11 BNF members of parliament and 68 BNF local councillors, decided to form a new party, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP). Since then, many more BNF members of local councils have joined the new party. On 13 July the speaker of the National Assembly recognised the BCP as the official opposition.

Addendum

The 1999 general election was contested by five political parties and two independent candidates. The "first past the post" electoral system was employed and the elections were conducted under an independent body the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). It should be noted that all post independence elections prior to 1999 were conducted by the Supervisor of Elections. The IEC was only established in 1997 according to new legislation.

In the 1999 election the Botswana Democratic Party won 33 of the 40 seats, followed by the Botswana National Front (6 seats) and the Botswana Congress Party (1 seat) (see 1999 National Assembly results). The Botswana Alliance Movement, the MELS Movement of Botswana and Independent candidates failed to win seats.

Addendum source

PARSONS, N "Botswana History Pages", 1999.