Serowe North

Parliamentary constituency in the Central District of Botswana, 1965–2004, 2014 to present

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|

Serowe North

Single-member constituency
for the National Assembly

Boundary of Serowe North

District| Central
Population| 37,879[1]
Major settlements| Serowe
Area| 4,608 km2
Current constituency
Created| 1965
Party|  BPF
Created from| Serowe North East
Serowe North West
Abolished| 1999
Re-established| 2014
MP| Baratiwa Mathoothe
Margin of victory| 1,038 (8.2 pp)

Serowe North is a constituency in the Central District represented by Baratiwa Mathoothe, a BPF MP in the National Assembly of Botswana since 2019.

## Constituency profile

[edit]

Serowe North lies in the Central District and is primarily rural, with the main settlement being the village of Serowe. The constituency is part of the three historically safe BDP seats that flipped to the BPF and had an average swing of 76.7pp towards the BPF.[2] This shift was attributed to the fact that the BaNgwato tribe, of which the Khama family is the royal family, resides in the Serowe area. Prior to Ian Khama's departure from the BDP, the constituency consistently voted for the party by significant margins. However, following the fallout between Ian Khama and President Mokgweetsi Masisi, Khama encouraged people in the Serowe region to vote for the newly formed BPF and this message strongly resonated with the locals.[3]

Serowe North was the constituency of Botswana's first President, Seretse Khama, from 1965 until a constitutional amendment stated that the sitting president could not simultaneously be an elected member of the National Assembly in 1974. As such, it was traditionally always one of the BDP's safest strongholds in the country, with the party rarely obtaining less than 90% of the vote there from its establishment ahead of the inaugural 1965 elections until its last election in 1999 before its abolition ahead of the 2004 elections. The constituency has the following localities:

1. Moreomabele
2. Serule
3. Parts of Serowe
4. Gojwane
5. Paje
6. Mabeleapodi
7. Majwanaadipitse
8. Tshimoyapula
9. Topisi

## Members of Parliament

[edit]

Key: BDP BPF

Election  | Winner

|

1965 election |  | Seretse Khama
1969 election |
1974 election |  | Colin Blackbeard
1979 election |
1984 election |
1989 election |  | Roy Blackbeard
1994 election |
1998 by-election  |  | Ian Khama
1999 election |
2014 election |  | Kgotla Autlwetse
2019 election |  | Baratiwa Mathoothe

## Election results

[edit]

### 2019 election

[edit]

General election 2019: Serowe North[4] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| BPF | Baratiwa Mathoothe  | 5,394  | 42.66  | New
| BDP | Kgotla Autlwetse | 4,356  | 34.45  | –50.95
| UDC | Keaobaka Kgano  | 1,656  | 13.10  | +3.62
| Independent | Dikgakgamatso Seretse  | 926  | 7.32  | New
| AP | Dods Selebego  | 312  | 2.47  | New
Margin of victory  | 1,038  | 8.21  | N/A
Total valid votes  | 12,644  | 98.97  | +0.01
Rejected ballots  | 131  | 1.03  | –0.01
Turnout | 12,775  | 83.87  | +2.38
Registered electors | 15,231  |  |
| BPF gain from BDP | Swing | +46.81  |

### 2014 election

[edit]

General election 2014: Serowe North[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| BDP | Kgotla Autlwetse | 9,611  | 85.40
| UDC | Dods Selebogo  | 1,067  | 9.48
| BCP | Motswakhumo Basego  | 576  | 5.12
Margin of victory | 8,544  | 75.92
Total valid votes  | 11,254  | 98.96
Rejected ballots  | 118  | 1.04
Turnout | 11,372  | 81.49
Registered electors | 13,955  |
| BDP notional hold

### 1999 election

[edit]

General election 1999: Serowe North[6] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| BDP | Ian Khama | 5,430  | 92.02  | +4.72
| BNF | S. G. Ramaribana  | 329  | 4.74  | −7.96
| BCP | Toro Lesego  | 225  | 3.24  | −9.46
Margin of victory  | 5,101  | 87.28  | +12.68
Total valid votes  | 6,946  | 96.19  | N/A
Rejected ballots  | 275  | 3.81  | N/A
Turnout | 7,221  | 73.27  | +10.2
Registered electors | 9,856  |  |
| BDP hold | Swing | +6.34  |

### 1994 election

[edit]

General election 1994: Serowe North[7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| BDP | Roy Blackbeard  | 5,430  | 87.3  | −5.17
| BNF | Toro Lesego  | 790  | 12.7  | +5.17
Margin of victory  | 4,640  | 74.6  | −10.34
Turnout | 6,220  | 63.07  | −5.39
Registered electors | 9,862  |  |
| BDP hold | Swing | −5.17  |

### 1989 election

[edit]

General election 1989: Serowe North[7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| BDP | Roy Blackbeard  | 7,036  | 92.47  | −3.1
| BNF | Abednico Masalila  | 573  | 7.53  | +3.1
Margin of victory  | 6,463  | 84.94  | −6.2
Turnout | 7,609  | 68.46  | −15.54
Registered electors | 11,114  |  |
| BDP hold | Swing | −3.1  |

### 1984 election

[edit]

General election 1984: Serowe North  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| BDP | Colin Blackbeard  | 8,033  | 95.57  | −3.53
| BNF | Modiri Khama  | 372  | 4.43  | +3.53
Margin of victory  | 7,661  | 91.14  | −7.06
Turnout | 8,405  | 84.00  | +24.54
Registered electors | 10,006  |  |
| BDP hold | Swing | −3.53  |

### 1979 election

[edit]

General election 1979: Serowe North  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| BDP | Colin Blackbeard  | 4,352  | 99.10  | +0.25
| BNF | T. E. Kuhlman  | 50  | 0.90  | −0.25
Margin of victory  | 4,302  | 98.2  | +0.5
Turnout | 6,481  | 59.46  | +22.42
Registered electors | 10,900  |  |
| BDP hold | Swing | +0.25  |

### 1974 election

[edit]

General election 1974: Serowe North[8] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| BDP | Colin Blackbeard  | 3,360  | 98.85
| BNF | T. E. Kuhlman  | 39  | 1.15
Margin of victory | 3,321  | 97.7
Turnout | 3,389  | 37.04
Registered electors | 9,149  |
| BDP hold

### 1969 election

[edit]

General election 1969: Serowe North[9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| BDP | Seretse Khama | Walkover | N/A
Majority  | N/A | N/A
Registered electors | 5,437  |
| BDP hold

### 1965 election

[edit]

General election 1965: Kanye South[10] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| BDP | Seretse Khama | 5,909  | 98.47
| BIP | K. K. Motshedisi  | 53  | 0.88
| BPP | K. T. Moletsane  | 39  | 0.65
Margin of victory | 5,856  | 97.59
Turnout | 6,001  | N/A
Registered electors | N/A |
| BDP win (new seat)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 2022 DELIMITATION COMMISSION REPORT (PDF). 2022. p. 46.
2. ^ Seabo, Batlang; Nyenhuis, Robert (2021-11-23). "Botswana's 2019 General Elections: A Referendum on General Ian Khama". African Studies Review. 64 (4): 854–883\. doi:10.1017/asr.2021.69. ISSN 0002-0206. S2CID 244539238.854-883&rft.date=2021-11-23&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:244539238#id-name=S2CID&rft.issn=0002-0206&rft_id=info:doi/10.1017/asr.2021.69&rft.aulast=Seabo&rft.aufirst=Batlang&rft.au=Nyenhuis,+Robert&rft_id=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/abs/botswanas-2019-general-elections-a-referendum-on-general-ian-khama/025D7A45D5F26B1A8045E91529DCAAB5#access-block&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Serowe+North" class="Z3988">
3. ^ Basimanebotlhe, Tsaone (2022-10-10). "Serowe constituencies vulnerable as BPF rumpus continues". Mmegi Online. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
4. ^ Independent Electoral Commission - Botswana National Assembly, 2019
5. ^ Independent Electoral Commission - Botswana National Assembly, 2014
6. ^ Independent Electoral Commission - Botswana National Assembly, 1999
7. ^ a b Results by constituency
8. ^ Report to the Minister of State on the general elections, 1974 (PDF). Supervisor of Elections. 1974.
9. ^ "Report on the General Elections 1969" (PDF). 1969.
10. ^ Gossett, Charles W.; Kebapetse, Lotshwao (21 April 2013). "Report on the 1965 General Election and the 1966 Local Government Election". Botswana Notes & Records. 41. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network (published 2009): 17. SSRN 2254423. Retrieved 2024-01-27.