List of general elections in Botswana

Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Since its independence from the United Kingdom as Bechuanaland on September 30, 1966, Botswana has been a parliamentary republic with a dominant party, namely the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), previously called the Bechuanaland Democratic Party. The first president to govern Botswana was Sir Seretse Khama. The country has had 13 formal general elections since 1961, with one happening every five years. The 2024 election is expected to happen in October. Each president is limited to two five-year terms; Quett Masire, the second president, created Botswana’s term limit in 1997. The country first adopted universal franchise during the 1965 Bechuanaland general election.

Every election has been won by the BDP. However, recent elections have shown that support for the BDP is declining. Opinion polls in 2022 conducted by Afrobarometer showed that 29.4% of people surveyed would vote for a main opposition party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), if elections were held the next day, compared to the BDP’s 22.3%, showing signs of instability towards Botswana’s dominant party system.

The president of Botswana is selected after the general election. For this process, the presidential candidate from the political party that wins a majority of the seats is sworn in as president.

Summary
The table below excludes European Advisory Council elections as members were elected by European residents, not citizens of the Protectorate themselves. During these elections, Bechuanaland citizens also did not get to participate in the British Administration.