The Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) is a

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

political party in

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 ...

formed in July 2019 by members of 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 ...

who split from the party because of a high-profile rivalry between former presidents

Ian Khama Seretse Khama Ian Khama() (born 27 February 1953) is a Motswana politician and former military officer who was the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defenc ...

and

Mokgweetsi Masisi Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi (; born 21 July 1961) is a Motswana politician who served as the fifth president of Botswana from 2018 to 2024. He served as the eighth vice president of Botswana from 12 November 2014 to 1 April 2018. He was ...

History

The party was officially launched in July 2019 as a split from the ruling

(BDP). It was backed by former president and BDP leader

after he left the party. In the October 2019 general elections, the party received 4.3% of the vote and won three seats, all in Khama's home area of Central District – Tshekedi Khama II elected in Serowe West, Leepetswe Lesedi in Serowe South and Baratiwa Mathoothe in Serowe North. However, party leader Biggie Butale failed to be elected in Tati West. On 6 August 2022, the BPF joined the

Umbrella for Democratic Change The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is a centre-left politics, centre-left to Left-wing politics, left-wing Electoral alliance, alliance of political parties in Botswana. Since the 2024 Botswana general election, the UDC has been the governi ...

alliance, at that time, uniting all opposition parties in the National Assembly except the

Alliance for Progressives The Alliance for Progressives is a social-liberal political party in Botswana. History In July 2017 the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) president Ndaba Gaolathe and five other members of the party's executive were expelled from the part ...

. However, during a party retreat on the 6th of April 2024, the party left the alliance, opting for a " pact model" instead of running under the UDC symbol ahead of 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 ...

Ideology

The party focuses on reforms in the fields of healthcare, housing and education. It pledges to build 100,000 affordable houses and proposes a comprehensive health insurance package that would cover all citizens. It supports the

mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral system, mixed electoral systems which combine local Winner-take-all system, winner-take-all elections with a Compensation (el ...

system, and also plans to invest in AI, 5G networks and

smart city A smart city is an urban area that uses digital technology to collect data and operate services. Data is collected from citizens, devices, buildings, or cameras. Applications include traffic and transportation systems, power plants, utilities ...

projects. The Botswana Patriotic Front also wishes to introduce direct presidential elections, separate from the general elections. The party also proposes to introduce presidential advisory council for social groups such as the youth, women, the disabled and the working class. The party also postulates increasing old-age pensions and reducing the age threshold for the pension from 65 to 60 years. It also pledges to promote self-sufficiency of the Botswana's agriculture and food industry. Its voter base are primarily the Ngwato regions, where the party appeals to the Ngwato tribal and localist sentiments.

campaigns on his position as the paramount chief of the Ngwato tribe, and one of the slogans of the BPF is "Not without my paramount chief". Apart from Ngwato people, the party also encompasses former members and dissidents from the

Election results

National Assembly

Election symbol

The Botswana Patriotic Front uses a clock with its arms pointing at 4 o'clock as its logo or election symbol. The clock is accompanied by the words ''Ke Nako'', meaning "it is time" in

Setswana Tswana, also known by its native name Setswana, is a Bantu language indigenous to Southern Africa and spoken by about 8.2 million people. It is closely related to the Northern Sotho and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalaga ...

References

{{Botswana political parties Political parties in Botswana Populist parties 2019 establishments in Botswana Political parties established in 2019 Political parties of minorities Botswana Patriotic Front politicians