Party politics in Botswana is characterised by a one-dominant-party system. The First-Past-The Post electoral system has in a way contributed to this scenario due to its characteristic of tending to favour large parties with widespread electoral support.
It is important to note though, that Botswana has a free mandate system in which electorates vote for individuals much more than they do for parties. However, often electoral support wanes when one leaves a party to become an independent candidate. The 2009 General Elections in Botswana produced unprecedented results in that for the first time an independent candidate won a parliamentary seat as well as numerous council candidates were successful. That notwithstanding, most of these candidates later revert to their original political parties or seek a new political home in other parties.
There are no legal political hindrances to party activities/operations. The main challenge is that opposition political parties are often poorly organised due to limited resources. On the contrary the ruling party enjoys unparalleled support from the private sector. Most private sector companies in Botswana survive through government business and they wouldn’t want to risk biting the hand that feeds them. This disadvantages the opposition parties especially as the ruling party refuses to listen to calls for public funding of political parties. The scenario leaves the opposition parties uncompetitive while on the other hand the ruling party also enjoys the advantages of incumbency.
This clearly shows an uneven playing field. Opposition parties in Botswana have and continue to play a major role in the governance of the country. Some institutions of governance have been established through the initiative and prodding of the opposition parties. For instance, the opposition prides itself in having agitated for the establishment of the Botswana Defence Force to stem incursions by the then Rhodesian army during the Smith regime. The establishment of the Independent Electoral Commission, Old Age Pension programme and the use of Setswana in Parliament were also suggested by the opposition parties in parliament.
In spite of the opposition parties contributing significantly to the governance of the country they remain organisationally weak. The main challenge, as afore-stated is lack of resources as mentioned earlier, in particular funding. Consequently opposition parties end up overtaxing their members of parliament and councillors, and other party officials by imposing mandatory contributions on them to support party activities. This inadvertently creates unintended problems as many people tend to develop feelings of ownership of the party due to the huge financial sacrifice they make for the party. The moment the people who have made huge sacrifices lose primary elections or some official position in their parties they feel betrayed, and cause trouble such as splits or rendering the party ungovernable.
It appears that after 48 years of democratic governance, multiparty system is moving towards maturity and becoming entrenched in our political culture. This is in spite of the weaknesses inherent in our political system. With this development comes the prospect of the decline of the Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) electoral dominance as evidenced by the past electoral results trend. The BDP’s electoral dominance is consistently diminishing with each electoral result except for the 2009 elections and two others (1974 & 1989) in the past. In most mature democracies it is rare for political parties to win power with over 50% of the votes cast. We anticipate this to be the developing trend in Botswana and therefore this offers good prospects for opposition parties’ growth in terms of attracting high quality leadership, increasing members, as well as votes.
The opposition parties have in the past attempted some form of loose coalitions but these have always ended nowhere. However, presently there is a working relationship/coalition between the Botswana National Front (BNF) and the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD and the Botswana People’s Party, styled as the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). I am the leader of the Botswana Movement for democracy by Secrrtary General of the UDC by virtue of this arrangement. the Leader of the UDC is Mr Duma Boko who is President of the Botswana National Front. It should be noted that one important opposition party has declined to proceed under this arrangement of the UDC. In spite of the latter circumstance, the UDC is anticipating to significantly and momentously increase its electoral support this coming elections in October 2014.
The main threat to our strategy of taking power is of course lack and short supply of funding, which I will briefly talk about. The main challenge for opposition parties is lack of funding as already mentioned, and the ability to attract capable people for leadership positions. The ruling party enjoys funding from the private sector and the advantages of incumbency. The governing party has persistently refused to consider party funding. They use their overwhelming majority in parliament to outvote any motion for party funding. The distortionary effect of the First-Past-The-Post electoral system doesn’t help the opposition when it comes to voting in parliament. Also, party funding is poorly regulated and this can become a national and international security issue especially with the sceptre of terrorism so high globally.
Public party funding within a well regulated environment would level the playing field as well as strengthen national security. This would also deal with corruption that perhaps could be behind the private sector funding the ruling party only. Presently party funding is not based on supporting a political course but the chances of winning government tenders. This should not be the criterion for funding parties but to strengthen democracy instead. The winds of change have, without any doubt, blown across Botswana during the last five years since the formation of the Botswana Movement for Democracy in 2010. There is a fair attempt to deal with a Botswana that is no longer the same country that was once referred to as a model of democracy and good governance within African and the developing world as a whole. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, is at crossroads. It is failing to manage the affairs of the nation and the state. It is dismantling the solid foundation that was laid down by Sir Seretse Khama, Sir Ketumile Masire and Festus Mogae.
*This is part of a speech Motswaledi gave at the Catham House (London)
