74% Voted

Provisional results show that turnout in Friday’s parliamentary and local government polls was just above 74%.

The results, yet to be confirmed by the Botswana electoral commission, show that of the 725 000 people registered to vote, 542 348 cast their ballot on Friday.

The ruling Botswana Democratic Party [BDP] was voted by 53.7% of the popular vote. This is far much less than the 70% the party had targeted. The BDP however has 45 seats in parliament. The main opposition BNF polled 21.4% of the vote with 6 seats.

The Botswana Congress Party is the only party which made a significant impact in the election, increasing its popular vote to 22.1 % just above the BNF, with 5 parliamentary seats. The Botswana Peoples Party got 1.4% but failed to win a seat while an Independent who also had 1.4% managed to get a seat in parliament.

Addressing thousands of BDP supporters on Sunday afternoon, President Ian Khama thanked BDP members and Batswana for the support they gave to his party and said it was time to deliver.

The BCP, which polled 22.1% of the popular vote, says it was happy with its performance in the elections. (SouthScan)