The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has called for “change” in its manifesto.
In the opening, President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who has led the nation since 2018, writes, “Let’s change together and build prosperity for all.”
This is a recognition that things must be done differently, something the opposition claims the president’s party is incapable of doing.
The BDP has won sizable parliamentary majorities in each of the 11 elections since independence in 1966, but observers say it is difficult to predict the outcome this time.
As MPs choose the head of state, it subsequently won the presidency each time.
A poor country with only a few kilometers of asphalt roads before independence was transformed into one with among of the highest average living conditions on the continent under the BDP’s peaceful and dramatic leadership.
This change has been supported by Botswana’s enormous diamond reserves, which, based on their worth, make the nation the world’s largest producer of the gemstone.