Back Botswana Democratic Party AF حزب بوتسوانا الديمقراطي Arabic Botswana Democratic Party German Partido Democrático de Botsuana Spanish Botswanan demokraattipuolue Finnish Parti démocratique du Botswana French Demokratska stranka Bocvane Croatian Partai Demokrat Botswana ID Partito Democratico del Botswana Italian ボツワナ民主党 Japanese

Botswana Democratic Party

Botswana Democratic Party
AbbreviationBDP
PresidentMokgweetsi Masisi
ChairmanSlumber Tsogwane
FounderSeretse Khama
Founded28 February 1962
HeadquartersTsholetsa House, Gaborone
IdeologyPaternalistic conservatism[1]
Economic nationalism[2]
Political positionCentre[3] to centre-right[4][5][6][7]
International affiliationSocialist International (consultative)[8]
African affiliationFLMSA
Colors  Red
  Black
  White
SloganTsholetsa Domkrag
National Assembly
4 / 61
Party flag
Website
bdp.org.bw

The Botswana Democratic Party (abbr. BDP, colloquially known as Domkrag) is a centre-right political party in Botswana. From the country's inaugural election in 1965 until the 2024 general election the party governed the country without interruption for 58 years. At the time of its defeat, the BDP was the longest continuous ruling party in the democratic world.

The party was founded in February 1962 as the Bechuanaland Democratic Party while the country was a British protectorate. It adopted its current name following Botswana's independence in 1966. In its beginnings, it was led by Seretse Khama, the country's first president and his successor Quett Masire. Subsequent presidents of Botswana, Festus Mogae, Ian Khama and Mokgweetsi Masisi, have chaired the party. The party won an overwhelming majority in the first elections under universal suffrage in 1965, leading Khama to become the first president of the new state, a position he held until his death in 1980. The BDP enjoyed virtually unquestioned hegemony for the next three decades, benefiting from the relative success of its economic policy and its pragmatic management of the relations between the different tribal groups of the country. Beginning in the late 1980s, the country's increasing urbanization and the emergence of a middle class less influenced by tribal relations weakened the BDP's support base and strengthened its opponents, while a growing economic slowdown in the 1990s caused the party to suffer harsh electoral setbacks, leading it to implement numerous reforms in an attempt to avoid exacerbating political polarization in the country. In subsequent elections, the BDP retained power with less support, largely benefiting from the first-past-the-post voting and facing an opposition plagued by constant divisions.[9][10][11]

Although its sources of voters have varied over the years and itself has suffered some splits that gave rise to other opposition parties, such as the liberal Botswana Movement for Democracy and the populist Botswana Patriotic Front, the BDP did not see its hegemony seriously threatened for much of its rule and won every election held since the introduction of universal suffrage in 1965 until 2024. Under its long government, elections in Botswana were considered credible and transparent by the international community.

From independence until the late 2010s, the BDP was particularly strong in the Central District, Seretse Khama's home region and the territory of the Ngwato tribe, while it became weak in urban areas and in the North-West and the South. During the presidency of Ian Khama (2008–2018), a polarizing figure within the party itself, the BDP suffered considerable internal crises that changed its voter base. The presidency of Mokgweetsi Masisi saw the departure of Khama from the party and the founding of the BPF by members located in the Central District, as well as a recovery of the party in the cities (mostly opposed to Khama) that led the BDP to triumph in the south and in urban areas in the 2019 elections while losing votes and seats in the Central District.

Having been a party of power for nearly six-decades, the BDP's ideology is considered by political analysts to be a party with an amorphous character, although in essence, it can be seen as a paternalistic conservative party that defends positions linked to traditionalism, economic nationalism, the market economy, the welfare state and multiparty democracy.[12][13] The party's historical voter base has been tribal communities, which has, in turn, led the BDP to mirror their conservative views. The internal democratization of the party since 1998 has since increased its ideological breadth.[14]

  1. ^ Seekings, Jeremy (April 2017). "UNU-WIDER : Working Paper : Building a conservative welfare state in Botswana". UNU-WIDER. WIDER Working Paper. doi:10.35188/unu-wider/2017/307-3. hdl:10419/163058. ISBN 978-92-9256-307-3. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  2. ^ Maundeni, Zibani (2003). "The politics of poverty in Botswana". Botswana Notes and Records. 35: 104. ISSN 0525-5090. JSTOR 40980343 – via JSTOR.
  3. ^ Ralph Morris Goldman (9 July 2002). The Future Catches Up: Selected Writings of Ralph M. Goldman, Volume 1. iUniverse. p. 214. ISBN 0595733867. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  4. ^ "After 46 years in power, Botswana's Democratic Party face united rival". The Times. SAPA-AFP. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  5. ^ Fombad, Charles M.; Steytler, Nico, eds. (10 September 2019). Decentralization and Constitutionalism in Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 468. ISBN 9780192585035. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  6. ^ Phirinyane, Molefe B., ed. (2013). Elections and the Management of Diversity in Botswana (PDF) (Report). Lightbooks. p. 31. ISBN 978-99912-71-50-7. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  7. ^ Derbyshire, J Denis; Derbyshire, Ian (2000). Encyclopedia of World Political Systems. New York: Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 9781317471561. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  8. ^ Member parties of the Socialist International
  9. ^ Rule, Stephen P. (1995). "Electoral Trends in Botswana: A Geographical Perspective". Africa Insight. 25 (1): 21–30.
  10. ^ Poteete, Amy R. (2012). "Electoral competition, factionalism, and persistent party dominance in Botswana". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 50 (1): 75–102. doi:10.1017/S0022278X11000619. ISSN 0022-278X. JSTOR 41474960.
  11. ^ Polhemus, James H. (1983). "Botswana Votes: Parties and Elections in an African Democracy". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 21 (3): 397–430. doi:10.1017/S0022278X00023491. ISSN 0022-278X. JSTOR 160817.
  12. ^ Fombad, Charles M.; Steytler, Nico (10 September 2019). Decentralization and Constitutionalism in Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 468. ISBN 978-0-19-258503-5.
  13. ^ Phirinyane, Molefe (2013). Elections and the Management of Diversity in Botswana. Lightbooks. p. 31. ISBN 978-99912-71-50-7.
  14. ^ Morton, Barry. "President Masire's Final Message to Botswana".

Botswana Democratic Party

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