Govt blames first-past-the-post for low women representation

The government has blamed Botswana’s first-past-the-post electoral system for the country’s persistently low representation of women in Parliament.

The admission is contained in Botswana’s National Report on the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) submitted to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

According to the report, women occupied only 8.7 percent of seats in the National Assembly following the 2024 general elections. The report says only three of the six women sitting in the National Assembly were elected during the 2024 elections, while the other three were specially appointed.

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