1999 Botswana general election

General election in Botswana April 2022 Botswana Legislative 1994 Botswana general election 1994 7th Parliament of Botswana 16 October 1999 2004 Botswana general election 2004 8th Parliament of Botswana 40 of the 44 seats in the National Assembly 21 459,663 77.11% (of registered voters) (0.56pp)41.98% (of eligible population) (2.65pp)n https://www.iec.gov.bw/images/Voter_Apathy_PRINT.pdf National Study On Voter Apathy in Botswana IEC Botswana University of Botswana 2022 17 en-GB 130x130px Festus Mogae 2002.jpg Festus Mogae Botswana Democratic Party 27 seats 33 NoneIncumbent presidents are ineligible to contest National Assembly seats; instead, they serve as ex-officio members of Parliament. 6 192,598 57.14% 2.55pp Kenneth Koma.jpg Kenneth Koma Botswana National Front 13 seats Gaborone South 6 7 87,457 25.95% 11.14pp BCP Michael Dingake Botswana Congress Party Gaborone Central (defeated) 0 seats 1 1 40,096 11.90% New 1999 Botswana National Assembly election - Results by constituency.svg Results by constituency 400px President Festus Mogae Botswana Democratic Party Festus Mogae Botswana Democratic Party General elections were held in Botswana on 16 October 1999, alongside local elections. The result was an eighth straight victory for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which increased its majority to 33 of the 40 elected seats in the National Assembly. Background A referendum on electoral reform in 1997 had led to the creation of a new Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18, and allowing overseas citizens to vote.Elections in Botswana https://africanelections.tripod.com/bw_2.html https://web.archive.org/web/20260415092443/https://africanelections.tripod.com/bw_2.html 2026-04-15 2026-08-04 africanelections.tripod.com Prior to the elections, the National Assembly was dissolved in late July 1999.BOTSWANA: Parliament dissolved ahead of elections IRIN, 26 July 1999 Because fewer than half of the roughly 800,000 eligible voters had registered, it was decided in late July to introduce supplementary voter registration.BOTSWANA: State of emergency defended IRIN, 6 September 1999 On 27 August it was reported that President Festus Mogae had set the election date for 16 October.BOTSWANA: Election date set for 16 October IRIN, 27 August 1999 However, announcing the date invalidated the supplementary voter registration because the names of the recently registered voters had not yet been published for inspection.BOTSWANA: State of emergency to be lifted IRIN, 7 September 2008 As a result, Mogae declared a state of emergency so that the National Assembly could meet again to amend legislation in order to allow the addition of about 60,000 people to the voters roll; this was the first time a state of emergency had been declared since Botswana became independent. A spokesman for the Botswana Electoral Commission described the situation as "very normal" and said that the election date would not be changed. The opposition Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) were critical, however, with the former's Lepetu Setshwaelo describing it as "the biggest scandal since our independence" and calling the government "totally incompetent". The BCP said that the state of emergency was unnecessary. Campaign The main opposition party, the Botswana National Front (BNF) split in mid-1998 after party leader Kenneth Koma was suspended by the party's central committee, and then had the suspension overturned by a court ruling. After Koma returned to the party leadership, he formed a caretaker committee to remove the members who had opposed him. The excluded members subsequently left to form the BCP, which included 11 of the BNF's 13 MPs and most of its local councillors.Botswana: The October 1999 General Election EISA As a result, BCP leader Michael Dingake replaced Koma as Leader of the Opposition. Following talks that began in late 1998, the BNF, the United Action Party and five other opposition parties agreed to form the BAM in January 1999. However, the BNF had left the alliance by the end of April 1999 after the other parties refused to allow the BNF to determine the Alliance's candidates in every constituency. The election campaign was low-key, and focussed on poverty, unemployment, wealth distribution and the country's AIDS epidemic. The BDP campaigned on a promise of prudent financial management, industrial diversification and efforts to combat the AIDS problem. The BNF criticised the government's economic policy, claiming it was too focussed on urban areas. The BCP claimed the government was too complacent, having been in power since the mid-1960s.Elections held in 1999 IPU Results Botswana Democratic Party 192598 33 +6 Botswana National Front 87457 6 –7 Botswana Congress Party 40096 1 +1 Botswana Alliance Movement 15806 0 New MELS Movement of Botswana 22 0 New Independents 1004 0 New Indirectly-elected seats 4 0 17483 0 459663 EISA Aftermath Following the elections, the National Assembly re-elected Mogae as President on 20 October. Notes n References External links Report on the General Elections 1999 Independent Electoral Commission Category:Elections in Botswana Botswana General Botswana