List of political parties in Botswana

Politics of Botswana

Constitution

Government

* President

Duma Boko
* Vice-President

Ndaba Gaolathe
* Boko cabinet

Parliament

* National Assembly

Speaker: Dithapelo Keorapetse
* Ntlo ya Dikgosi
(House of Chiefs)

* Constituencies

Judiciary

* High Court of Botswana

Administrative divisions

* Districts
* Sub-districts
* Villages

Elections

* Recent elections

* General: 2009
* 2014
* 2019
* 2024

* Political parties
* List of general elections in Botswana

Foreign relations

* Minister of Foreign Affairs

Minister: Phenyo Butale

* * *

* Diplomatic missions of / in Botswana

* * *

* Passport
* Visa requirements
* Visa policy

* Other countries

* * *

Portal

* v
* t
* e

Botswana was a dominant-party state with the Botswana Democratic Party in power for most of its history.[1] Opposition parties were widely considered to have little chance of gaining a parliamentary majority until the 2024 Botswana general election which saw the Umbrella for Democratic Change win a parliamentary majority.

## Current parties

[edit]

### Parties represented in the National Assembly

[edit]

Alliance  | Abbr. | Party  | Abbr. | Ideology | Seats

|
|
|
|
|

|  | Umbrella for Democratic Change | UDC  |  |  | Alliance for Progressives | AP  | Social liberalism
Civic nationalism |

36 / 69

|  | Botswana People's Party | BPP  | Democratic socialism
Pan-Africanism
|  | Botswana National Front | BNF  | Social democracy
Christian left
|  |  | Botswana Congress Party | BCP  | Social democracy
Third Way |

15 / 69

|  | Botswana Patriotic Front | BPF  | Populism |

5 / 69

|  | Botswana Democratic Party | BDP | Paternalistic conservatism |

4 / 69

### Minor parties

[edit]

Party  | Abbr. | Leader | Ideology

|
|
|

|  | Botswana Labour Party | BLP  | Moiseraele Dibeela | Socialism
Co-operative economics
Economic nationalism
|  | Botswana Movement for Democracy | BMD  | Thuso Tiego | Right-wing populism
|  | Botswana Republican Party | BRP  | Biggie Butale | Christian democracy
Social conservatism
|  | Real Alternative Party | RAP  | Gaontebale Mokgosi | Socialism
Revolutionary socialism

## Historical

[edit]

Alliance name  | Abbr. | Ideology  | Existence

|
|
|

| Botswana Alliance Movement | BAM  | Progressivism | 1999-2010
| Botswana Freedom Party | BFP  |  | ?-1994
| Botswana Independence Party | BIP  |  | 1962-1994
| Botswana Liberal Party | BLP  | Liberalism | 1983-?
| Botswana Progressive Union [nl] | BPU  |  | 1984-1991
| Botswana Workers Front | BWF  | Nationalism
Christian democracy | 1993-?
| Independence Freedom Party | IFP  |  | 1994
| MELS Movement of Botswana | MELS  | Communism
Marxism–Leninism
Anti-revisionism
Pan-Africanism | 1994-2013
| New Democratic Front | NDF  | Progressivism | 2003-2004
| Social Democratic Party | SDP  | Social democracy | 1999
| United Action Party | UAP  | Familialism
Youth rights
Feminism | 1999-?
| United Socialist Party | USP
PUSO  | Left-wing politics | 1994-1999

### Political alliances

[edit]

Alliance name  | Abbr. | Ideology  | Existence

|
|
|

| United Democratic Front | UDF  | Nationalism
Christian democracy | founded in 1994

## See also

[edit]

* Politics of Botswana
* Lists of political parties
* Elections in Botswana
* National Assembly (Botswana)

## References

[edit]

### Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ Afrobarometer 2023, p. 1-5.

### Citations

[edit]

Afrobarometer (27 April 2023). Majority of Batswana are not opposed to a dominant-party system, so long as elections are free and fair (PDF) (Report). pp. 1–5. Retrieved 12 May 2024.1-5&rft.date=2023-04-27&rft.au=Afrobarometer&rft_id=https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/news_release-majority-of-batswana-not-opposed-to-dominant-party-system-Afrobarometer-27apr23.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:List+of+political+parties+in+Botswana" class="Z3988">

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2005). Parteien und Parteiensysteme in Afrika (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 19 November 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Political parties in Botswana

Parliamentary|

* Botswana Democratic Party
* Umbrella for Democratic Change
* BNF
* BPP
* AP
* Botswana Patriotic Front
* Botswana Congress Party

Extraparliamentary|

* Botswana Movement for Democracy
* Botswana Republican Party
* International Socialist Organisation

Defunct|

* Botswana Alliance Movement
* Botswana Independence Party
* Botswana Workers Front
* United Democratic Front
* MELS Movement of Botswana
* New Democratic Front

* Portal:Politics
* Lists of political parties
* Politics of Botswana

* v
* t
* e

List of political parties in Africa

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

Dependencies and
other territories

* Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain)
* Madeira (Portugal)
* Mayotte / Réunion (France)
* Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)
* Western Sahara

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template