A party in power for 58 years pledges change for Botswana

BBC:

In its manifesto, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) is calling for “change”.

“Let’s change together and build prosperity for all,” President Mokgweetsi Masisi – in charge of the country since 2018 – writes in the introduction.

It is an acknowledgement that things need to be done differently – the opposition argues that the president’s party is not in a position to do that.

Though analysts say the outcome of the election is hard to predict this time, the BDP has won handsome parliamentary majorities at the 11 elections since independence in 1966.

It subsequently secured the presidency every time as MPs elect the head of state.

The BDP has been credited with overseeing a peaceful and dramatic transformation of a poor country, with only a few kilometres of tarred roads at independence, into a place where average living standards are among the highest on the continent.

Underpinning this transformation has been Botswana’s huge diamond reserves – measured by their value, the country is the world’s largest producer of the gemstone.

And yet all is not well.

Botswana is facing big economic challenges – hence Masisi’s talk of change.

More than one in four of the working population is unemployed, with an even higher proportion among younger people, according to the World Bank.

Politics professor at the University of Botswana Zibani Maundeni described it as a “jobless economy”.

“We are producing graduates every year and the economy is not producing enough jobs for them,” he told the BBC’s Africa Daily podcast.

In addition, Botswana’s wealth is not evenly spread around among its 2.3 million people.

By a measure known as the Gini index, researchers say it is one of the most unequal countries in the world.

And the diamond industry appears to be under pressure globally as demand has been falling.

But Masisi and his party continue to project confidence.

At a campaign rally in an opposition stronghold in central Botswana, the president arrived in style in an electric vehicle assembled in the country.

Getting out, the 63-year-old former teacher danced towards the stage greeting supporters in red-and-white party colours.

Laughter rang through the crowd as Masisi’s humour and charisma electrified the audience.

The area – home to the previous President, Ian Khama – elected three opposition MPs in 2019.

This was after Khama defected from the BDP to help form the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), saying he regretted picking Masisi as his successor.

The dramatic fall-out between the two men led to Khama leaving the country, accusing the government of trying to poison him.

Khama was then charged with money laundering, among other crimes, all of which he denies.