Botswana: Government moves to fund political parties

There is money to make politics less dominated by men of a certain age. There’s also the small matter of the incumbent’s bid for a second term.

Keletso Thobega in Gaborone

Limited choices: A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Gaborone in 2019. Photo: Monirul Bhuiyan/AFP

Just three months away from October’s national elections, Botswana is struggling to encourage broader political participation. President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s government has yet to finalise a law that would unlock a 34-million pula (about $2.5-million) fund for small political parties.

According to finance minister Peggy Serame, who announced the allocation in her February budget speech, the money is meant to “grant equal opportunities” for all to participate in the country’s political development.

While it’s considered one of Africa’s most stable democracies, Botswana’s politics are very marginalising: only 11% of the members of the national assembly are women, none of the MPs are under 40, and none is from the longest-resident population of Khoisan language speakers.

Politics is generally dominated by men over 50, and two of the country’s five presidents were from one family: father and son, Seretse and Ian Khama. The ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), has governed since independence in 1966 and holds a 66% majority in the national assembly, with the other five represented parties sharing only 14 seats.

In the absence of meaningful political choice, voter apathy is widespread. The electoral commission set out to register 1.3-million voters but missed that target by 20% despite three concerted drives in the relatively well-resourced country of 2.6-million people.

Political activists have long argued that many capable and willing Botswana citizens are kept out of political competition because they lack the financial resources to compete against a ruling party with access to state resources and elite networks. The government appeared to agree by earmarking the new fund for political parties. In a subsequent statement, it reiterated that political funding has the potential to enhance democracy and allow equal participation in the electoral process.

It’s a sound plan if it works, said Kevin Casas Zamora, the secretary general of the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Zamora, who wrote a book titled Paying for Democracy: Political Finance and State Funding for Parties. He told The Continent that “when the initiative is well-designed, it can make a difference and ensure that those who desire to stand for elections can”. This then leads to more plurality in the political system.

However, given how close the government is to cutting it in releasing the funds, its opponents are starting to fear that the plan was mere electioneering. Prominent opposition politician Dumelang Saleshando of the Botswana Congress Party wonders out loud if it was probably just a trap to give political aspirants false hope while endearing the ruling party to voters. “The delay by government has inconvenienced other political players who need funds for their campaigns,” he told The Continent.

Popular president, chaotic times

Masisi, 62, is running for re-election. He is popular, especially because he has flexed considerable muscle to renegotiate and rebalance the country’s relationship with the De Beers diamond company.

But his presidency has been clouded by high unemployment, widespread genderbased violence, and his legendary fallout with former president Ian Khama, who handpicked him as successor. Masisi claimed Khama got upset because he refused to appoint his younger brother, Tshekedi Khama, as vice president. Khama has been in self-imposed exile from Botswana for about 30 months now.

Masisi also got caught up in the Botswana iteration of global campaigns against LGBTQIA+ rights. He promised to decriminalise homosexuality, and with his nod, Botswana’s highest court repealed the country’s colonial-era anti-homosexuality law in 2019. However, when the justice minister moved to delete the law from the books last year, the formality triggered backlash from a coalition of evangelical Christian churches and was deferred.

His own party’s conduct also does not do him any favours. Last weekend’s BDP primaries descended into chaos with allegations of cheating. Party members assaulted some journalists with brooms and fists to keep them away from the votecounting stations and refused to answer questions about the process. The BDP has since released a statement condemning the attacks and calling for calm ahead of the national elections.