The Brief No 61
02 November 2024
Almost all international media organisations, covered the successful elections in Botswana amidst a busy week in international news.
Generally such news would have remained a scroll on international news channels. Smaller countries hardly make it in international news.
It is still rare to have an incumbent head of state conceding defeat before official announcement of election results in Sub Sahan Africa.
President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi whose party, Batswana Democratic Party (BDP) suffered a devastating defeat in these elections. Notwithstanding he wasted no time in conceding defeat and congratulating his opponent the incumbent President Duma Boko.
Botswana’s elections comes on the heels of the South African elections which took place on 29 May 2024.
The developments in Botswana are significant for the following reasons:
They indicate a stable, growing and maturing democracy.
They also indicate continuing abandonment of old liberation movements’s politics and rule by the masses.
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