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Dominant political party in Botswana / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Botswana Democratic Party, (abbr. BDP), is a centre-right political party in Botswana. It has ruled the country since 1965, one year before independence and is characterised as a dominant-party in Botswana's political system. It was founded in February 1962 under the name of the Bechuanaland Democratic Party in the then British protectorate of the same name and acquired its current name with the country's independence in 1966.
Botswana Democratic Party Phathi ya Domkrag | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | BDP |
Chairman | Slumber Tsogwane |
President of Botswana | Mokgweetsi Masisi |
Vice President of Botswana | Slumber Tsogwane |
Leader of the House | Slumber Tsogwane |
Founder | Seretse Khama |
Founded | November 1961 |
Headquarters | Tsholetsa House, Gaborone |
Ideology | Paternalistic conservatism[1] Economic nationalism[2] |
Political position | Centre[3] to centre-right[4][5][6][7] |
International affiliation | Socialist International (consultative)[8] |
Africa affiliation | FLMSA |
Colors | Red Black White |
Slogan | Tsholetsa Domkrag |
National Assembly | 38 / 65 |
Councillors | 332 / 490 |
Party flag | |
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Website | |
bdp.org.bw | |
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. Since then, the BDP has retained power with less support, benefiting from the first-past-the-post voting and facing an opposition plagued by constant divisions.
Although its sources of voters have varied over the years and it has suffered some splits that gave rise to other opposition parties, such as the Botswana Movement for Democracy and the Botswana Patriotic Front, the BDP has not seen its hegemony seriously threatened and has won every election held since the introduction of universal suffrage in 1965. Under its long government, elections in Botswana are considered credible and transparent by the international community, making the BDP actively the longest continuosly ruling party in a democratic country.
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.
Ideologically, the BDP is considered by political analysts to be a party with an ambiguous 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. The party's historical voter base has been tribal communities, which has led the BDP to mirror their conservative views. The internal democratization of the party since 1998 has increased its ideological breadth.