The president announces that he will recognize defeat and “facilitate the transition”

The President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, announced on Friday the 1st^Ahem November that the “would retire”after the defeat of his party in the legislative elections according to the first counts. “I would like to congratulate the opposition on their victory and concede the election”declared the outgoing head of state during a press conference.

The results reported by the various counting offices show that the three opposition parties together obtained 31 of the 61 seats in the national Parliament in Wednesday’s elections, according to a count carried out by Agence France-Presse (AFP). Under the country’s electoral system, the first party to win 31 of the 61 parliamentary seats will be declared the winner and install its candidate as president.

Masisi, who took office in 2018, assured that “initiate all administrative procedures to facilitate the transition”. “We are very happy to step aside and become a loyal opposition that demands that the government be held accountable”said the 63-year-old leader.

The results are expected to be confirmed by the Independent Electoral Commission later today.

the national newspaper Mmeguiindependent, published on his Facebook front page Boko’s victory in the Duma and wrote in particular that the BDP faces defeat. “overwhelming” in legislative and local elections.

The left-wing opposition party Umbrellas for Democratic Change (UDC), led by human rights lawyer and Harvard graduate Duma Boko, 54, leads with 19 seats, according to information collected by AFP at counting centers . The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) has seven and the Botswana Patriotic Front has five.

Current President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has only won one seat so far. The group has led the country since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.

More than a million people were registered to vote on Wednesday, out of a population of 2.6 million.

Botswanans “demand change”

“The change is here”declared Duma Boko on Facebook, anticipating his team’s victory after the publication of the first results. The outgoing president’s government was accused of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement, while the gap between rich and poor is one of the largest in the world, according to the World Bank.

“For too long we have been operating under a system that has always produced the same results, mediocre at best.”Boko said in an interview with South African channel ENCA in July. the batswana “demand change” AND “they crave something refreshing and different”he added.

The BDP’s popularity has declined over the decades, first falling below 50% in the 2014 election, when Ian Khama, son of Botswana’s first president, Sir Seretse Khama, was in power. But the party still hoped to remain in place, as Mokgweetsi Masisi declared on election day that “the victory was” TRUE.

The country’s dependence on diamonds

One of the main concerns of voters was the increase in unemployment (27%), especially among young people, and the erosion of sales of diamonds, Botswana’s main source of income, in competition with synthetic ones. Botswana – whose growth is at half-mast – is the second largest producer in the world, behind Russia.

According to observers, the new government will have to work to reduce the country’s dependence on diamonds. “The first priority of the next government or president would be to stabilize the economy and establish a degree of strategic certainty in the mining sector”said independent political commentator Olopeng Rabasimane.

“The second priority must be job creation, especially for young people.” and the third, “diversify the economy so that it no longer depends on diamonds”continuous.