- Title: Botswana votes in first real challenge to ruling party
- Date: 23rd October 2019
- Summary: GABORONE, BOTSWANA (OCTOBER 23, 2019) (REUTERS) PEOPLE STANDING OUTSIDE POLLING STATION PEOPLE FILLING OUT PAPERWORK SIGN READING (English): "LOT34113A, POLLING STATION" PERSON GIVING OUT VOTING CARD MAN CASTING VOTE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOTSWANA VOTER, KEALEBOGA TAUTSAGAE, SAYING: "I'm hoping that the candidate who will win, will have, will be able to improve, to come up with policies that will improve our lives and policies that will take Botswana to a better future." WOMAN CASTING VOTE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOTSWANA VOTER, JOHN KEITSEOPE, SAYING: "The person that I elect is able to manage and eradicate corruption, so yes that's what I'm hoping for." PEOPLE LINING UP OUTSIDE POLLING STATION MAN LOOKING ON PEOPLE LINING UP WOMAN LOOKING ON ROW OF PEOPLE SITTING DOWN
- Embargoed: 6th November 2019 07:16
- Keywords: Botswana polls open general election Botswana Democratic Party BDP President Mokgweetsi Masisi
- Location: GABORONE, BOTSWANA
- City: GABORONE, BOTSWANA
- Country: Botswana
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2BINUV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Botswana polls opened on Wednesday (October 23) for a general election that is expected to provide the first genuine challenge to the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in its five decades of dominance over southern Africa's wealthiest and most stable nation.
Whichever party wins will have to move swiftly to transform the economy, which since independence from Britain in 1966 has grown at 8% a year to become one of Africa's most successful, but now risks coming unstuck because of over-reliance on a single commodity - diamonds.
Campaigning on promises to drive that economic transformation, Duma Boko, leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change, is hoping to unseat the BDP of President Mokgweetsi Masisi. He is backed by former president Ian Khama, who handed over to Masisi last year but has since fallen into a bitter power struggle with him. He is backed by former president Ian Khama, who handed over to Masisi last year but has since fallen into a bitter power struggle with him.
Of Botswana's population of 2.2 million people, 924,000 registered voters will elect 57 national assembly and 490 local government representatives.
(Production: Siyabonga Sishi, Soraya Ali) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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