National Assembly of Botswana

National Assembly of Botswana
Type
Type	Lower house
Structure
Members	61 plus 2 non-voting members
Political groups	Botswana Democratic Party      Co-opted Members      Botswana National Front      Botswana Congress Party      Botswana Alliance Movement      Independent
Elections
Last election	October 16, 2009
Website
http://www.parliament.gov.bw/

Botswana

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Botswana

Constitution President Ian Khama Vice President Mompati Merafhe Parliament House of Chiefs National Assembly Political parties Elections: 2004, 2009 Constituencies Districts Sub-districts Foreign relations

Other countries · Atlas Politics portal view · talk · edit

The National Assembly of Botswana is the legislature of the country's unicameral Parliament. It is advised by the House of Chiefs, which is not a house of Parliament.

The current National Assembly, formed following elections held on 16 October 2009, has a total of 63 members. 57 members are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple-majority (or First-past-the-post) system for a term of five years. Four members are co-opted (appointed by the President) while the remaining two (the President and Attorney-general) are ex-officio.

Current composition

Main article: List of current members of the National Assembly of Botswana

e • d  Summary of the 16 October 2009 Botswana National Assembly election results

Parties		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Botswana Democratic Party	290,099	53.26	45	+1
	Botswana National Front	119,509	21.94	6	–6
	Botswana Congress Party	104,302	19.15	4	+3
	Botswana Alliance Movement	12,387	2.27	1	+1
	Independents	10,464	1.92	1	+1
	Botswana People's Party	7,554	1.39	0	—
	Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin Movement	292	0.05	0	—
	Tlhoko Tiro Organisation	40	0.00	0	—
Valid votes		544,647	98.12
Invalid votes		10,431	1.88
Totals		555,078	100.00	57	—
Electorate and voter turnout		723,617	76.71
Source: Independent Electoral Commission

Previous National Assembly election results

Political Party	Election Year
	1965	1969	1974	1979	1984	1989	1994	1999	2004
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)	28	24	27	29	29	31	27	33	44
Botswana National Front (BNF)	-	03	02	02	04	03	13	06	12
Botswana People's Party (BPP)	03	03	02	01	01	-	-	-	-
Botswana Independence Party (BIP)	-	01	01	-	-	-	-	-	-
Botswana Congress Party (BCP)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	01	01
Total	31	31	32	32	34	34	40	40	57

Note: In the pre-independence 1965 election, the Botswana Democratic Party was known as the Bechuanaland Democratic party and the Botswana People's Party was known as the Bechuanaland People's Party.

Despite being a one party dominant state since independence, all elections held in the country have been considered democratic, free, and fair.

See also

• House of Chiefs of Botswana - the upper chamber of Parliament
• History of Botswana
• Legislative Branch
• List of Speakers of the National Assembly of Botswana

Coordinates: 24°39′31″S 25°54′38″E / 24.65861°S 25.91056°E / -24.65861; 25.91056