Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana’s voters delivered a shock defeat to the party that has ruled them for nearly six decades, registering their anger over economic stagnation linked to a decline in the diamond trade by handing victory to opposition presidential candidate Duma Boko.
The 54-year-old, of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) coalition, will replace President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who on Friday conceded defeat after his Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lost by a landslide for the first time in 58 years.”From tomorrow… I will start the process of handover,” Masisi said in an audio clip posted on social media of his phone call to Boko, signalling a smooth power transition.
In his first public remarks after being sworn-in as the new president, Boko said he was humbled by the election outcome.
“I pledge with every fibre of my being that I will do everything I can, not to fail, not to disappoint, appreciating always the enormity of the responsibility bestowed upon me by the people of this republic. It is their government,” he said.Analysts blamed mounting economic grievances, particularly among young people, for the downfall of the BDP, which has governed the southern African state of around 2.5 million people since independence from Britain in 1966.
Like many African countries, Botswana’s economy has largely depended on the export of a single commodity – in its case, diamonds.
Unlike many, its leaders have largely resisted the urge to steal or squander their commodity windfall, instead spending it on health, education and social welfare. Botswana’s GDP per capita was $7,250 in 2023 – compared with an average for sub-Saharan Africa of $4,800, World Bank data shows.
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