Democracy in Botswana

Democracy Ratings

Freedom House 2018

Score:

2.5 out of 7

(where lower scores are more democratic)

Freedom Status:

Free

EIU Democracy Index 2017

Score:

7.81 out of 10

(where higher scores are more democratic)

World Ranking:

28

Polity IV 2016

Score:

8

(from -10 to 10, where higher scores are more democratic)

Category:

Democracy

 

Political System

System of Government Parliamentary
Presidential Electoral System Elected by parliament
Presidential Term Limits Two, five-year terms
System of Appointment to Legislature

First Past The Post

57 elected, 4 appointed, and 2 ex-officio members

Last Legislative Election

2014

Next Legislative Election

2019

Number of Seats in Legislature 63
Female quota, representation in lower house No

Results

Last legislative election (2014)    
Party Votes (%) Seats
Botswana Democratic Party 46.45 37
Umbrella for Democratic Change 30.01 17
Botswana Congress Party 20.43 3
Independents 3.11 0
Indirectly-elected seats 6

Botswana on DiA

Creating Belonging or Ruling by Exclusion? Politics, Citizenship and African Governance

23 January 2023

Jesper Bjarnesen, Cristiano Lanzano, Henning Melber, and Patience Mususa

Taking lives: Living in Kleptoland?

16 February 2022

Khadija Sharife

How popular is China in Africa? And how do people think about its role?

23 September 2021

Folashade Soule & Edem E. Selormey

Why are Africa's small countries more democratic?

16 May 2019

Jack Corbett and Wouter Veenendaal 

IWD: How democracy is failing women

8 March 2019

Susan Dodsworth

The state of democracy in Africa

14 August 2015

Nic Cheeseman

Botswana: beyond the 'miracle'

22 December 2014

SJ Cooper-Knock