1989 Botswana general election

General elections were held in Botswana on 7 October 1989, alongside local elections.^[1] The result was the sixth straight landslide victory for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which won 31 of the 34 elected seats.^[2]

1989 Botswana general election

← 1984 7 October 1989 1994 →
← outgoing members elected members →
34 of the 38 seats in the National Assembly 18 seats needed for a majority
Registered	367,069
Majority party Minority party   Leader Quett Masire Kenneth Koma Party BDP BNF Leader's seat None[a] Gaborone South Last election 68.00%, 29 seats 20.44%, 4 seats Seats won 31 3 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 162,277 67,513 Percentage 64.78% 26.95% Swing 3.22pp 6.51pp
Results by constituency
President before election Quett Masire BDP Elected President Quett Masire BDP

As of the 2019 general elections, this is the last time the BDP received more than the 60% of the popular vote.

Background

A referendum on electoral reform had been held in 1987, and resulted in the creation of a Supervisor of Elections, which would be appointed by the government. Both the BDP and the Botswana National Front (BNF) hold primary elections to select candidates.^[3]

Campaign

The BNF went into the elections suffering from instability; Bathoen Gaseitsiwe resigned as party leader in 1985 after becoming head of the Customary Court of Appeal. Prior to the elections Bathoen criticised new party leader Kenneth Koma for his left-wing policies, resigned from the BNF and established the Botswana Freedom Party (BFP). The new BFP ran as a nationalist and pro-free market party.^[3] The ruling BDP campaigned on its record in government around economic development and political stability.^[1]

A total of 91 candidates contested the elections, with the BDP being the only party to field a full slate of 34 candidates. The BNF put forward 31 candidates, the Botswana People's Party 11, the Botswana Independence Party 9, the Botswana Freedom Party 2 and the Botswana Progressive Union and Botswana Liberal Party both had a single candidate.^[3]

Results

The Botswana People's Party (BPP) lost its sole seat and would not regain parliamentary representation until the 2024 elections.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Botswana Democratic Party	162,277	64.78	31	+2
	Botswana National Front	67,513	26.95	3	–1
	Botswana People's Party	10,891	4.35	0	–1
	Botswana Independence Party	6,209	2.48	0	0
	Botswana Progressive Union	2,186	0.87	0	0
	Botswana Freedom Party	1,363	0.54	0	New
	Botswana Liberal Party	48	0.02	0	New
Indirectly-elected members				4	–
Total		250,487	100.00	38	0
Registered voters/turnout		367,069	–
Source: IPU, Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

Following the elections, the BNF claimed that there had been irregularities in the Mochudi constituency, where they lost to the BDP by 29 votes. The High Court ruled in the BNF's favour, resulting in a by-election in June 1990 in which the BDP retained the seat.^[3]

Notes

1. Incumbent presidents are ineligible to contest National Assembly seats; instead, they serve as ex-officio members of Parliament.

References

1. Elections held in 1989 Inter-Parliamentary Union
2. Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p113 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
3. Botswana: The October 1989 General Election EISA