General elections were held in Botswana on 7 October 1989, alongside

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

.Elections held in 1989
Inter-Parliamentary Union The result was the sixth straight landslide victory for the

Botswana Democratic Party The Botswana Democratic Party (Abbreviation, abbr. BDP, colloquially known as Domkrag) is a centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Botswana. From the country's 1965 Bechuanaland general election, inaugural election in 1965 until th ...

(BDP), which won 31 of the 34 elected seats.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) ''Elections in Africa: A data handbook'', p113 As of the 2019 general elections, this is the last time the BDP received more than the 60% of the popular vote.

Background

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

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 The Botswana National Front (BNF) is a social democratic political party in Botswana. It was the main opposition party in Botswana from the 1969 elections until the 2024 elections. It is the largest component of the governing Umbrella for Demo ...

(BNF) hold

primary elections Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

to select candidates.

Campaign

The BNF went into the elections suffering from instability;

Bathoen Gaseitsiwe Bathoen Seepapitso Gaseitsiwe (18 May 1908—3 October 1990) also known as Bathoen II and B2 was a Motswana ''kgosi'', jurist and politician who served as Chief of the Bangwaketse from 1928 to 1969. He served as Chairman of the Botswana Nationa ...

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. The ruling BDP campaigned on its record in government around economic development and political stability. 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 The Botswana People's Party (BPP), originally the Bechuanaland People's Party, is a political party in Botswana formed in December 1960 during the colonial era. As a result of disappointment with the Legislative Council, under the leadership of ...

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.Botswana: The October 1989 General Election
EISA

Results

The

(BPP) lost its sole seat and would not regain parliamentary representation until the

2024 elections This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...

Aftermath

Following the elections, the BNF claimed that there had been irregularities in the

Mochudi Mochudi is one of the larger villages in Botswana with a population of 50,321 people in 2022. It is situated in the Bakgatla tribal region, in Kgatleng District, about northeast of Gaborone. The village lies several kilometres from the main ...

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.

Notes

References

{{Botswana elections Elections in Botswana

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results