Botswana held a

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in October 2019. Though it was more competitive than previous elections, it resulted in a victory for the ruling

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 independence ...

(BDP) and won an addition term for 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 ...

. Botswana saw an escalation in the rivalry between Masisi and his predecessor

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 ...

, with Khama leaving the Botswana Democratic Party to support the Botswana Patriotic Front and the

Umbrella for Democratic Change The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is an alliance of centre-left to left-wing political parties in Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked count ...

. Following the BDP's victory, opposition leaders challenged the results of the election. The Sewelô diamond was discovered in April 2019, and two other diamonds, the

Okavango Blue The Okavango Blue is a 20.46 carat blue diamond of exceptional clarity. The Okavango Blue originated from the Orapa diamond mine in Botswana. The original stone was found in May 2018, weighing 41.11 carat, and was cut in an oval shape. The di ...

and the

Lesedi La Rona Lesedi La Rona, formerly known in media as Karowe AK6 or as Quad 1 by the personnel at the mine, is the fourth-largest diamond ever found, and the third-largest of gem quality. It was found in the Karowe mine, (formerly called AK6) in Botswana ...

, were unveiled in the same month. The nation's ban on elephant hunting was controversially lifted in May 2019. Botswana's law criminalising homosexuality was overturned by the

High Court of Botswana The High Court of Botswana is the highest court of Botswana. It is based in Gaborone with branches in Lobatse, Francistown, and Maun. It operates above the Magistrates' Courts of Botswana, but below the Appeal Court A court of appeals, also ...

in June 2019, prompting a challenge from the government.

Incumbents

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 f ...

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

Slumber Tsogwane Slumber Tsogwane (born 21 September 1960) is the current Vice President of Botswana and also Member of Parliament for Boteti West. He is the longest serving Member of Parliament of the 12th Parliament of Botswana. He took office on 4 April 201 ...

* Speaker of the National Assembly: ** Gladys Kokorwe (until 5 November) **

Phandu Skelemani Phandu Tombola Chaka Skelemani (born 5 January 1945) ...

(after 5 November) *

Chief Justice 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 ...

: Terence Rannowane

Ongoing

* 2018–2019 Botswana drought *

Attempts to overturn the 2019 Botswana general election General elections were held in Botswana on 23 October 2019 to elect MPs and local government councillors. Despite a high profile split in the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in May 2019 when former President Ian Khama left the party an ...

White-backed vulture The white-backed vulture (''Gyps africanus'') is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the most common vulture species in the continent of Africa. Description Preening a ...

poisonings in Africa

Events

* 8 January – Botswana bans the importation of cloven hoofed animals from South Africa following an outbreak of

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious disease, infectious and sometimes fatal virus (biology), viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild Bovidae, bovids. The virus causes ...

. * 15 January – Former Director of Intelligence Services Isaac Kgosi is arrested on tax evasion charges. * 20 February – Football manager David Bright is removed from his position as national football coach. * 28 February ** President Masisi announces a one billion pula ($95 million) line of credit to Zimbabwe. ** The

hears a case to decriminalise homosexuality. * April – The

, a 20-carat blue diamond, is unveiled. * 5 April – The

announces that President Masisi is its next presidential candidate following the withdrawal of

Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi is a Botswana journalist and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana from 2014 until December 2018. She was appointed to the National Assembly of Botswana in 1999 as one of the four specially select ...

. * 10 April – The

, a 302 carat diamond, is unveiled. * 26 April – The Sewelô, a 1,758-carat diamond, is announced. * 29 April – Botswana hosts regional National Rapid Response training with the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

at the Avani Resort Center. * 22 May – Botswana lifts its ban on

elephant hunting Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

. * 25 May – Former president

announces that he will no longer support the Botswana Democratic Party and would work to unseat the party's members. * June – A poisoning kills 537 endangered and critically endangered vultures. * 11 June - The High Court overturns a ban on homosexuality. * July ** The government of Botswana appeals the High Court decision to decriminalise homosexuality. ** A malfunction on President Masisi's plane prompts conspiracy theories that his political opponents are making attempts on his life. ** The Botswana Patriotic Front is formed by former president Ian Khama and his supporters. * 22 July – FIFA fines and bans former Botswana Football Association secretary general Mooketsi Kgotlele on charges of

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

and accepting bribes. * August – President Masisi announces that Botswana will provide free HIV treatment to non-citizens. * 27 August –

Adel Amrouche Adel Amrouche ( ar, عادل عمروش; born 7 March 1968) is an Belgo- Algerian football manager and former player who manages the Yemen national team. Following the part of his career in Belgium, where he clinched his UEFA trainer-licence, ...

is named coach of the Botswana national football team. * 17 September – The government of Botswana begins deporting refugees that fled Namibia in 1999. * 22 October – The

2019 Botswana general election General elections were held in Botswana on 23 October 2019 to elect MPs and local government councillors. Despite a high profile split in the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in May 2019 when former President Ian Khama left the party and ...

, the first competitive election in the nation's history, takes place. * 25 October – The ruling Botswana Democratic Party is determined to have won the general election. * November – The

, the Botswana Democratic Party's strongest opposition, challenges the results of the 2019 general election. * 1 November – President Masisi is sworn in following his reelection. * 11 November – The government of Botswana orders the church of

Shepherd Bushiri Shepherd Bushiri also known as Major 1 is a Malawian, Christian preacher, self proclaimed prophet, businessman, motivational speaker, and author. Bushiri is on the run in Malawi after skipping bail in South Africa where he faced 8 charges of ra ...

to stop congregating in the country. * 15 November – The Court of Appeal rules that the government may continue distributing

antiviral drugs Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do no ...

to treat HIV infections following a challenge from Portfolio Pharmaceuticals. * December –

Choppies Choppies Enterprises Limited is a Botswana multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. The retailer initially sold only food-based (both fresh groceries and wholesale long-life foods) and other fa ...

announces the sale of its South African operations for one rand.

Deaths

*25 January –

Boniface Tshosa Setlalekgosi Boniface Tshosa Setlalekgosi (14 September 1927 – 25 January 2019) was the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Gaborone, Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is ...

, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 cen ...

(b. 1927).

References

{{Year in Africa , 2019 2010s in Botswana Years of the 21st century in Botswana

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 Kal ...