President Mokgweetsi Masisi says he will \u2018step aside\u2019 after shock outcome for the governing Botswana Democratic Party
\n Botswana
\nBotswana\u2019s President Mokgweetsi Masisi has conceded defeat as preliminary results showed his governing party lost its parliamentary majority after nearly six decades in power.
\nMasisi\u2019s concession on Friday came before the final results were announced, with his Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) trailing in fourth place, according to tallies by the electoral commission.
\nThe main opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) passed the 31-seat threshold needed to secure a majority in parliament, according to results released on state television. This would make its leader, human rights lawyer Duma Boko, the president-elect.
\n\u201cWe got it wrong big time in the eyes of the people,\u201d Masisi told a news conference in the capital, Gaborone.
\n\u201cWe were really convinced of our message. But every indication, by any measure, is that there\u2019s no way that I can pretend that we\u2019re going to form a government.\u201d
\nThe president, who was seeking a second five-year term in Wednesday\u2019s election, said he would \u201cstep aside\u201d.
\n\u201cI wish to congratulate the opposition on their victory and concede the election,\u201d Masisi said.
\nThe results are expected to be confirmed by the electoral commission later on Friday.
\nState television said the UDC had won 32 seats, based on results from 55 of the 61 constituencies up for grabs.
\nUnder the country\u2019s electoral system, the first party to take 31 of 61 seats in the legislature will be declared the winner, install its candidate as president and form a government.
\nThe BDP has governed the diamond-rich Southern African nation since 1966 and was expected to win.
\nMasisi said he had called Boko to inform him he was conceding defeat.
\nThere was no immediate comment from Boko, 54, who founded the UDC in 2012 to unite opposition groups against the BDP.
\n\u201cCHANGE IS HERE,\u201d Boko wrote on Facebook as small street celebrations were under way in parts of Gaborone. It is the third time that he has run for president, previously contesting in 2014 and 2019.
\nThe opposition Botswana Congress Party won seven seats and the Botswana Patriotic Front had five seats, with the BDP at just four, the partial tally showed.
\nMasisi, a 63-year-old former high school teacher and UNICEF worker, had been widely expected to keep his parliamentary majority and serve a second and final term.
\nOften held up as one of Africa\u2019s greatest success stories, Botswana ranks among the wealthiest and most stable democracies on the continent.
\nBut a global downturn in demand for mined diamonds, which account for more than 80 percent of Southern African exports, has taken a toll on the economy.
\nEconomic growth is expected to slow to 1 percent in 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund, down from 2.3 percent last year and 5.5 percent in 2022.
\nUnemployment has risen to 27 percent, with an even greater share of young people out of work.
\nBefore the vote, the BDP had acknowledged the need to diversify the economy, pledging to develop new drivers of growth such as agriculture and tourism.
\n\u201cI am proud of our democratic processes. Although I wanted a second term, I will respectfully step aside and participate in a smooth transition process,\u201d Masisi said.
\nMore than one million people were registered to vote of a population of 2.6 million.
\nThe BDP did not \u201chave anything new to offer\u201d, analyst Ringisai Chikohomero of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies told the Reuters news agency. \u201cIt was very clear that the president was really relying on incumbency.\u201d
\nBut UDC put forward ambitious policy proposals, he said, by pledging to more than double the minimum wage, improve social services and create a more independent judiciary, among other measures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Mokgweetsi Masisi says he will \u2018step aside\u2019 after shock outcome for the governing Botswana Democratic Party Botswana Botswana\u2019s President Mokgweetsi Masisi has conceded defeat as preliminary results showed his governing party lost its parliamentary majority after nearly six decades in power. Masisi\u2019s concession on Friday came before the final results were announced, with his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-441080","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n