A referendum on judicial reform was held in
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 Kalaha ...
on 3 November 2001, having been originally scheduled for 6 October, but later postponed.
Botswana: 2001 Referendum
EISA The referendum asked eight separate questions about judges and courts, all of which were approved, seven by a margin of over 70%. Voter turnout for the referendum was just 4.9%, with 22,600 votes from a total of 460,252 registered voters.
African Elections DatabaseTswana
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 ...
nationalist group Pitso Ya Batswana, and a call by the group for a boycott were all suggested as reasons for the low turnout.[Botswana: Ethnic tensions on the rise]
IRIN, 8 November 2001 Pitso Ya Batswana claimed that the referendum was an attempt by the BaKalanga
The Kalanga or Bakalanga are a southern Bantu ethnic group mainly inhabiting Matebeleland in Zimbabwe, northeastern Botswana and Limpopo Province in South Africa. They are historically related to the Nambya, Karanga, Bapedi and Venda.
Curre ...
ethnic group, who are over-represented in the judicial system, to increase their hold over it.[
]
Question I
The first question was regarding qualification of candidates to be appointed judges on the High Court:
The proposal was passed with a 74.2% approval.[
]
Question II
The second question was regarding qualification of candidates to be appointed judges on the Court of Appeal:
The proposal was passed with a 74.81% approval.[
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Question III
The third question was regarding a change in the designation of High Court judges:
The proposal was passed with a 76.74% approval.[
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Question IV
The fourth question was regarding raising the retirement age of High Court and Court of Appeal judges:
The proposal was passed, although with only a 53.93% approval, far lower than any of the other questions.[
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Question V
The fifth question was regarding the nomination of members of the Judicial Service Commission:
The proposal was passed with a 72.45% approval.[
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Question VI
The sixth question was regarding the Judicial Service Commission:
The proposal was passed with a 72.68% approval.[
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Question VII
The seventh question was regarding the Industrial Court:
The proposal was passed with a 74.5% approval.[
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Question VIII
The eighth and last question was regarding the Chief Justice:
The proposal was passed with a 76.68% approval, the highest of all the proposals.[
]
References
{{Botswana elections
Botswana judicial reform referendum
Judicial reform referendum
2001
Reform in Botswana
Botswana judicial reform referendum