Chief Justice Declares Botswana's Opposition Leader Boko President-Elect
09:52 02.11.2024 (Updated: 15:37 03.11.2024)
© Photo X / @zimlive
Subscribe
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Botswana held a general election on Wednesday. According to the election results, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lost by a landslide, securing four out of 61 constituencies. The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) got 36 seats. In Botswana, to get a majority, a party needs to win 31 constituencies.
Chief Justice of Botswana Terence Rannowane on Friday declared the leader of the country's opposition UDC party, Duma Gideon Boko, Botswana's president-elect after his party secured a historic win in the general election, ending the 58-year rule of BDP.
"Attorney Duma Gideon Boko is the presidential candidate who has the support of more than half of the elected members of parliament. It is my honor and privilege to declare him the president-elect of the Republic of Botswana. I congratulate him with all my heart on the trust the voters have placed in him," Rannowane told a briefing.
Earlier in the day, incumbent President of Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi said that he recognized the election results, indicating the BDP's defeat, and vowed to step down peacefully.
The BDP has dominated Botswana's national politics since the country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.
