![Statue_of_Sir_Seretse_Khama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Statue_of_Sir_Seretse_Khama.jpg)
The National Assembly is the
legislative body
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...
of
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
's national government. With the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, the National Assembly forms Botswana's
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.
It is advised by the
Ntlo ya Dikgosi
The ''Ntlo ya Dikgosi'' ( Tswana for "House of Chiefs") in Botswana is an advisory body to the country's parliament.[house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...]
of Parliament.
Though there were legislative predecessors to the National Assembly during colonial rule, it was not until
independence in 1966 that the National Assembly of Botswana officially formed.
Since then, there have been consistent multi-party elections and 5 peaceful presidential transitions.
Currently, there are 65 total members of the National Assembly.
Voters in single member
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
directly elect 57 of these members for a term of 5 years through a plurality (or
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
) system. Six members, meanwhile, are nominated by the President and elected by the assembly. Finally, the remaining two (the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
Speaker of the National Assembly) are ''
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
''.
Despite the presence of consistent elections, the National Assembly has not escaped criticism. In every election since the founding elections in 1965, the
Botswana Democratic Party
The Botswana Democratic Party ( abbr. BDP) is the governing party in Botswana. Its chairman is the Vice-President of Botswana, Slumber Tsogwane, and its symbol is a lift jack. The party has ruled Botswana continuously since gaining independenc ...
has won a majority of seats in the legislative body. As a result, an inter-party power transition has not occurred.
Additionally, political science scholars have sometimes expressed concern about the National Assembly because of its few women MPs and its interconnectedness with the executive.
Role and structure
The National Assembly of Botswana is part of the legislative branch of Botswana’s National Government and thus has the primary role of debating and passing bills.
Always constituting the National Assembly are 57 members elected by voters from single-member constituencies. Along with these elected members are also six members
nominated
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* ...
by the President and specially elected to their positions by the National Assembly. Finally, there are also up to two ex-officio members - one of which is always the President.
Originally, the purpose of the specially elected members was to create representation in the National Assembly for
minority groups
The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
of the country. Later, the
MPs would typically reserve these spots for people with sought-after skills. More recently, however, the specially elected seats have primarily served as a way for the majority party to increase its number of seats in the assembly.
Among the members of the National Assembly are also a
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
, a Deputy Speaker, and a
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
.
Though the Speaker is often a member of the National Assembly, the MPs do not have to fill this role with another MP. As a result, when the MPs elect a speaker from outside the governing body, the Speaker becomes the 65th member of the National Assembly. If desired, two-thirds of the members can vote to remove the Speaker.
Furthermore, along with being members of the National Assembly, some MPs are also part of the
President's Cabinet. At any given moment, there are 26 Cabinet ministers in the National Assembly - 8 of whom are assistant ministers.
In other words, 42% of the National Assembly is also part of the President's Cabinet.
In general, the main purpose of the National Assembly is to debate and pass
bills. Typically, the President introduces bills and members of the Cabinet have the ability to examine them first. Despite this, however, there are a few bills that successfully enter the National Assembly through different pathways.
Then, after reaching the National Assembly, a bill must gain a simple majority to pass onwards to the President. Finally, once the President assents to the bill, it passes into a
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
.
Nevertheless, for a bill to become a legitimate law, it cannot contradict the
Constitution of Botswana
The present Constitution of Botswana commenced on September 30, 1966.
Background
Before colonial rule was established in Botswana, a traditional constitution - a body of laws known as - was used by tribal chiefs, or diKgosi, of the Botswana pe ...
. If a law does go against the Constitution, the
judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
has the right to declare the legislation invalid.
Along with passing bills, the National Assembly also has the power to elect the President. This election does not occur through a vote, but instead by whether or not a party holds a majority in the National Assembly.
Since the
Parliament of Botswana
The Parliament of Botswana consists of the President and the National Assembly. In contrast to other Parliamentary systems, the Parliament elects the President directly (instead of having both a ceremonial President and a Prime Minister who has ...
is a combination of both the National Assembly and the President, the election of the President forms the Parliament.
Then, unlike in many parliamentary systems, the President will act as both the
Head of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
and the
Head of Government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
.
Within this role, the President has the power to present legislation, speak, and vote.
Additionally, they also have the power to summon,
prorogue
Prorogation in the Westminster system of government is the action of proroguing, or interrupting, a parliament, or the discontinuance of meetings for a given period of time, without a dissolution of parliament. The term is also used for the period ...
and dissolve the National Assembly
Under the circumstance that the President declares a state of public emergency, the National Assembly also gains another purpose. In this scenario, the President acquires the power to independently create broad regulations that are necessary to quell the emergency. However, due to the Emergency Powers Act that was passed in 1966, in this circumstance the National Assembly has the power to act as a check and must approve the President’s emergency regulations.
History
Pre-Colonial and colonial origins
Often, in Botswana, chiefs govern locally by convening community meetings called “
Kgotlas." Some scholars, like political scientist John Holm, point to such meetings as examples of how
Tswana
Tswana may refer to:
* Tswana people, the Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions
* Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people
* Bophuthatswana, the former ba ...
culture embodies themes of public discourse and debate. Evidently, these values exemplify popular notions of democratic principles.
Within this cultural context, chiefs maintained local governance throughout colonial rule.
During the colonial era, the British ruled over the area of modern-day Botswana according to their policy of
indirect rule
Indirect rule was a system of governance used by the British and others to control parts of their colonial empires, particularly in Africa and Asia, which was done through pre-existing indigenous power structures. Indirect rule was used by vario ...
. Called
the Bechuanaland Protectorate at the time, the area experienced little colonial intervention relative to other areas within the region. In part, this was because Bechuanaland was not a settler colony. Furthermore, this was also due to the fact that the area avoided annexation into neighboring white supremacist
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
Eventually, however, colonial intervention became more centralized in 1919 when the British authorities established a Native Advisory Council at the regional level. Soon after in 1920, a European Advisory Council followed. Then, for the next 36 years, these councils acted separately until the formation of a Joint Advisory Council. This council did not have the power to pass
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...
, but could debate and comment on existing legislation.
However, it is important to note that British colonial authorities often constructed these councils on a foundation of exploitative interests. As a result, they often upheld and enforced colonial economic extraction.
Independence and the creation of a legislature
In 1959, the resident commissioner of Botswana,
Peter Fawcus
Sir Robert Peter Fawcus KBE CMG (30 September 1915 – 22 April 2003) was a British colonial administrator in Bechuanaland Protectorate.
Educated at Cambridge University, Fawcus was Government Secretary for Bechuanaland from 1954 to 1959, Res ...
, worked alongside prominent Batswana
[Batswana is an umbrella term that refers to the people of Botswana. Since it means "the people of Tswana" it is not necessarily inclusive of minority groups and is not a perfect term.] figures such as
Seretse Khama
Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, GCB, KBE (1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980) was a Motswana politician who served as the first President of Botswana, a post he held from 1966 to his death in 1980.
Born into an influential royal fam ...
to create a new Legislative Council.
This council had the power to pass laws and would play an integral role in the transition to independence. Composing this council were ten government officials, ten Africans, ten Europeans, and one Asian resident of Botswana. Most of the members representing the Africans and Europeans came from newly established African and European Councils.
Legislative Councils (LegCos) like this one were not isolated to Botswana and were instead common in late British colonial rule. Ken Opalo, an expert of legislative politics, notes that colonial officials frequently dominated LegCos during their existence. Consequently, LegCos often worked to progress the desires of the colonial authority. During the transition to independence, this involved empowering executives and limiting legislative rule itself. In many other postcolonial states, this contributed to decades of autocracy.
Eventually, as British colonial rule began to wane, Seretse Khama met with the African members of the council in 1962 to form the
Bechuanaland Democratic Party
The Botswana Democratic Party (abbr. BDP) is the governing party in Botswana. Its chairman is the Vice-President of Botswana, Slumber Tsogwane, and its symbol is a lift jack. The party has ruled Botswana continuously since gaining independence ...
(BDP).
Then, soon after this event, a group composed of chiefs, white residents, and members of Botswana’s newly established political parties convened to draft the future
Constitution of Botswana
The present Constitution of Botswana commenced on September 30, 1966.
Background
Before colonial rule was established in Botswana, a traditional constitution - a body of laws known as - was used by tribal chiefs, or diKgosi, of the Botswana pe ...
.
In this Constitution were the outlines for the National Assembly.
Then, in March of 1965, the first elections occurred with three political parties taking part in the campaign.
The BDP won 81 percent of vote and 28 out of 31 available seats in the assembly.
It was soon after these elections that the country officially secured independence in 1966.
Post-Independence and the dominance of the BDP
Though many African countries experienced decades of
single-party rule
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
until the 1990’s, Botswana has had 5 peaceful presidential transitions and consistent
multi-party democracy
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...
since independence.
The Botswana Democratic Party - formerly Bechuanaland Democratic Party - has always won a majority of seats in the National Assembly and is an ongoing symbol of the national liberation movement.
Meanwhile, unlike the BDP, the opposition parties in the National Assembly have routinely changed since independence. During the 1990’s, urbanization and the sudden prominence of the
mining sector
Mining is the Extractivism, extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein (geology), vein, coal mining, seam, quartz reef mining, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of ...
weakened the BDP’s agriculturally centered political base. Because of this perceived fragility, some of the opposition parties were able to merge into the
Botswana National Front (BNF) and almost created a unified opposition party to counter the BDP. In the late 1990’s, however, the BNF fractured and did not come close to rivaling the BDP again.
Yet, despite the inconsistency of the opposition, BDP’s dominance has routinely created concern among members of opposition parties about whether the National Assembly can act as a proper check against the President. In particular, many see a problem with lack of separation between the National Assembly and the executive in the formation of
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.
In addition to this concern, political science scholars such as David Sebudubudu note that the President holds direct influence over MPs because 42% of the National Assembly is also in the President’s Cabinet. In a critique of the National Assembly, Sebudubudu and his colleagues explain that loyalty and personal ambitions may impede the ability for BDP party members to be free-acting in the assembly.
Stemming from this general concern, in 1988 the National Assembly passed a motion urging the separation of Parliament, and thus the National Assembly, from the office of the President.
Then, in 2002, speaker Ray Molomo echoed this motion when he asked a special team to look into forming a National Assembly independent of the executive.
More recently during the 2010's, concern over the executive's power led an opposition party -
Botswana Movement for Democracy
The Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) is an opposition political party in Botswana established in 2010 by MPs and other politicians who split from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party over differences with Ian Khama, the BDP's leader and Pres ...
(BMD) - to accuse BDP of autocracy.
Along with this concern about BDP’s dominance is also anxiety about the few women MPs in the National Assembly. After the
2009 national elections when only two women were directly elected to the assembly, some political scientists like Gretchen Bauer expressed worry over how the representation of women was not increasing over time. Although women candidates are usually competitive in elections, it is often difficult for them to advance past the
primary stage for political parties.
Additionally, along this vein of representation, scholars like research fellow James Kirby have also expressed that there is little space for minority ethnic groups like the
Basarwa
The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, ...
to express their opinions within the National Assembly.
After the
2019 general elections, the concern over the few women MPs resurfaced once again as only 3 women were elected to the National Assembly. In order to address this problem, president
Mokgweetsi Masisi
Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi (born 21 July 1961) is the fifth and current President of Botswana, serving since 2018. He served as the 8th Vice President of Botswana from 12 November 2014 to 1 April 2018. He was a Member of Parliament in the N ...
chose to nominate four women to the specially elected seats. Among the members nominated was notable human rights activist
Dr. Unity Dow and financial official
Peggy Serame
Peggy Onkutlwile Serame is a Motswana politician who has been serving as Minister of Finance in the government of President Mokgweetsi Masisi since April 2021.
Political career
Prior to being appointed to the cabinet, Serame worked as a micro ...
.
Following these nominations, a different significant event for the National Assembly occurred in March of 2020. Because of the
COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. President Masisi called for a six month state of public emergency in order to address the virus. This was only the second state of public emergency declaration in Botswana’s history. Yet, even though the National Assembly eventually approved the six month state of public emergency, there was still concern among members of opposition parties because of the powers that it would invest upon the president. As a result, the debate over approving the state of public emergency was shown on national television for the purpose of improving transparency.
Soon after, Botswana's National Assembly drew international attention because all members of Parliament, including the President, were forced to quarantine due to exposure to
the COVID-19 virus.
Elections
Processes and trends
The National Assembly is the only part of the Batswana National Government that private citizens elect.
Botswana uses a
First-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system for elections whereby candidates with the most votes win single-member constituencies.
Originally, voting occurred with disks that corresponded to various candidates based on color. Then, in 1999, the national elections switched to using paper ballots.
Regarding voter safety, 89% of
Afrobarometer
The Afrobarometer is a pan-African, independent, non-partisan research network that measures public attitudes on economic, political, and social matters in Africa. Its secretariat headquarters are in Accra, Ghana, registered as a limited company ...
survey respondents expressed that they were able to vote freely without external pressure.
Elections for the Botswana National Assembly occur every 5 years, with the
last election occurring in 2019. For some political parties, elections for MPs are preceded by primaries. However, hosting primaries is not a legal obligation in Botswana. Additionally, there is currently no
gender quota system for elections to the National Assembly.
In a recent survey, support for a gender quota system was nearly evenly split. 48% approved by 47% disapproved.
In order to be a candidate for
MP, a person must be 18 years old, registered to vote, and also a citizen of Botswana. They also must be able to read and speak
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
Along with this, there are circumstances in which a person can be disqualified from office. For example, a person cannot be
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...
, labeled insane, or sentenced to imprisonment longer than six months. They also cannot actively be either a member of Ntlo ya Dikgosi or a public official that oversees elections.
Since 1965, the BDP has won a majority of seats in the National Assembly in every election.
Yet, even though the BDP has received consistent support (especially from rural constituencies), there is evidence that elections are growing more competitive over time.
Over the course of the 2000’s, the number of competitive constituencies increased. Along with this, the BDP has been securing more of its seats through
pluralities instead of majorities in recent elections.
In
2014, for the first time in the nation’s history, opposition parties won a majority of the total votes.
Then, during the 2019 elections, former President
Ian Khama
Seretse Khama Ian Khama (born 27 February 1953) is a Botswana politician and former military officer who was the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence ...
switched loyalty and endorsed the opposition party
Umbrella for Democratic Change
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is an alliance of centre-left to left-wing political parties in Botswana.
History
The UDC was founded in November 2012 by members from various opposition parties, including the BPP and BMD. They rall ...
(UDC).
Despite both of these notable events, however, the BDP has always maintained its majority of seats in the National Assembly.
In the 2019 elections, the BDP won 29 seats and the UDC was well behind with only 13 seats. Three of the four remaining seats went to the
Botswana Patriotic Front
The Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) is a political party in Botswana.
History
The party was officially launched in July 2019 as a split from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). It was backed by former President and BDP leader Ian Khama a ...
, while the other went to the
Alliance for Progressives
The Alliance for Progressives is a social-liberal political party in Botswana.
History
In July 2017 the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) president Ndaba Gaolathe and five other members of the party's executive were expelled from the part ...
.
Regarding voter participation, there were 900,000 voters who were registered for the 2019 elections.
Additionally, the 2019 Afrobarometer survey showed that 63% of people - 64% of women and 62% of men - voted in the 2014 parliamentary elections.
Previously, in 1999, concern over voter participation had been a prominent news story in the country. Before the
1999 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1999.
* 1999 electoral calendar
Africa
* 1999 Algerian presidential election
* 1999 Botswana general election
* 1999 Beninese parliamentary election
* 1999 Central African Republic presidential elect ...
, 60,000 potential voters were accidentally disqualified when voter rolls were completed too late.
Festus Mogae
Festus Gontebanye Mogae (born 21 August 1939) is a Botswana politician and economist who served as the third President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was re-elected in October 2004; after ten y ...
, who was the President at the time, declared the nation’s first state of public emergency in order to call the National Assembly and pass a law allowing unintentionally disenfranchised people to vote.
Previous National Assembly election results
Note: In the pre-independence 1965 election, the Botswana Democratic Party was known as the Bechuanaland Democratic party and the Botswana People's Party was known as the Bechuanaland People's Party. The chart also does not include ex-officio and co-opted members.
Public Opinion
With 5 peaceful presidential transitions, consistent multi-party rule, and a lack of military coup attempts, Botswana’s governing system is extremely stable.
Despite this, however, the most recent Afrobarometer survey showed varied feedback from Batswana respondents about the National Assembly's performance. Though 34% of respondents agreed that Parliament acts well to reflect their opinions, 35% disagreed. More specifically, 57% of respondents stated that they disapproved of their own representative’s performance in Parliament. Meanwhile, regarding the respondents trust in the government, 24% did not trust Parliament at all and 28% only trusted Parliament a little.
Notes
See also
*
1st Parliament of Botswana
*
Ntlo ya Dikgosi
The ''Ntlo ya Dikgosi'' ( Tswana for "House of Chiefs") in Botswana is an advisory body to the country's parliament.[History of Botswana
The Batswana, a term also used to denote all citizens of Botswana, refers to the country's major ethnic group (called the Tswana in Southern Africa). Prior to European contact, the Batswana lived as herders and farmers under tribal rule.
Be ...]
*
Legislative Branch
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as ...
*
List of speakers of the National Assembly of Botswana
The Speaker of the National Assembly is the presiding officer of the unicameral Parliament of Botswana. Since Botswana's independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, eight men and women have served as Speaker. The first, Alfred Merriweather, a ...
References
{{Coord, 24, 39, 31, S, 25, 54, 38, E, source:kolossus-plwiki, display=title
1961 establishments in Bechuanaland Protectorate
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
Government of Botswana