Botswana will hold its general elections on October 30, as announced by President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
He stated that October 30 and 31 would be public holidays to encourage voter turnout. Parliament will be dissolved on September 5.
Presidential candidates must submit their names by September 28, while parliamentary and local council candidates have until October 4.
Botswana, a multi-party democracy, holds elections every five years, with the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in power since 1966.
The BDP, which secured over 52% of the vote in the 2019 election, confirmed Masisi, 63, as its candidate.
He will face Duma Boko of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and Dumelang Saleshando of the Botswana Congress Party.
Botswana, with a population of 2.5 million, is heavily reliant on diamonds, which account for over 90% of its exports.
Despite this, the country faces significant inequality, according to the World Bank.
Since Masisi took office in 2018, concerns about corruption and nepotism have emerged, with allegations of large government tenders being awarded to family members, according to Afrobarometer’s 2024 report.
