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Botswana’s ruling party loses parliamentary elections
In Botswana, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has emerged as the clear loser of Wednesday’s parliamentary elections according to preliminary results. According to initial counts, the party of President Dr Mogweetsi E. Masisi was able to secure just 4 of the 61 parliamentary seats up for election. Instead, the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) triumphed with 34 seats according to initial projections, giving it an absolute majority in parliament. Meanwhile, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) came second with 14 seats, followed by the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) with five seats, which was supported by Masisi’s predecessor Ian Khama, among others. The official results are expected to be announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) later today.
According to the Botswana electoral law, the party that wins at least 31 parliamentary seats is declared the winner of the election. The president is elected by the members of parliament. Accordingly, the Chief Justice of Botswana, Terence Rannowane, declared UDC Chairman Duma Boko President-elect of the Republic of Botswana on national television – although the counting of the votes is not yet complete. During the election campaign, the 54-year-old former human rights lawyer campaigned with his party in favour of raising the minimum wage, increasing social benefits and promising to create between 450,000 and 500,000 jobs within five years. President Masisi appeared before the cameras on Friday morning and conceded his party’s election defeat. He said he would step down respectfully and ensure a smooth transition. At the same time, he congratulated the opposition and President-elect Duma Boko (UDC) on their election victory and emphasised that he respected the will of the voters and was proud of the country’s democratic process.
The rejection of the BDP, which had ruled the country since its independence from Great Britain in 1966, can be explained in particular by the increasing socio-economic grievances. Although Botswana is often referred to as Africa’s success story and is one of the richest and most stable democracies on the continent, the country’s economic growth has been declining for several years. While it was still at 5.5 per cent in 2022, it was only 2.3 per cent the following year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting economic growth of just one per cent for 2024. One of the reasons for this is that the global diamond market has collapsed and the Botswana economy is heavily dependent on diamond mining. At the same time, unemployment has risen to 28 per cent, with youth unemployment being particularly high. The Masisi government has also recently been repeatedly accused of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement. According to the World Bank, the landlocked country is one of the countries with the greatest inequality between rich and poor in the world. Although the BDP had also promised to diversify the economy, it was unable to convince voters.
This year’s parliamentary elections were considered to be particularly hard-fought, with the electoral commission repeatedly criticised. For example, there were irregularities in the early election a fortnight ago, in which around 12,000 election workers and thousands of police officers and members of the army were allowed to vote. Among other things, ballot papers were missing from some polling stations, meaning that the vote had to be repeated in some districts. The opposition parties then accused the commission of rigging the election. Both the BDC and the UDC filed applications with the High Court in Maun to ensure the transparency of Wednesday’s ballot. They called on the IEC to publish the digital voters’ register in order to uncover possible double registrations – a total of over one million voters had registered. Secondly, the political parties should be allowed to escort the vehicles with the ballot boxes from the polling stations to the counting centres in order to prevent fraud.
The BDP, which is losing its mandate to govern after 58 years in power, is the second long-standing ruling party in Southern Africa after the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa to be punished by its voters this year. In neighbouring Namibia, where SWAPO, which has been in power since 1990, is also under pressure, elections are due this year and it remains to be seen whether it can continue to secure the broad support of the population.
French President Macron on a state visit to Morocco
From Monday to Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron was received by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI. for a state visit in the capital Rabat. Macron was accompanied by a 130-strong delegation, including Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, Minister of Economics Antoine Armand, Minister of National Education Anne Genetet, Minister of Culture Rachida Dati and representatives of French companies. The three-day talks centred on the topics of migration, France’s repositioning on the Western Sahara issue and French investments in the areas of renewable energies and transport infrastructure in Morocco.
In his speech to the Moroccan parliament on Tuesday, Macron reaffirmed Morocco’s recognition of its sovereign claims to the disputed territory of Western Sahara and France’s support for the Moroccan autonomy plan from 2007 – a change of course that Paris had already announced in July of this year (Press Review 31/2024). Macron also announced that investments and sustainable initiatives by French companies in Western Sahara are to be realised, although he did not specify an exact amount. Foreign Minister Barrot also referred to an updated map of Morocco on the website of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, on which the territory of Western Sahara has been added to the territory of Morocco. Media voices from neighbouring Algeria, which supports the Sahrawi liberation movement Frente Polisario’s demand for an independent Western Saharan state, accused France of violating international law and denying the Sahrawi people the right to self-determination.
Macron and King Mohammed VI. signed 22 agreements to strengthen cooperation in the areas of education, energy, transport and security in a formal ceremony on Monday. Investments totalling 10 billion euros were announced during the visit. For example, the French railway manufacturer Alstom is to supply up to 18 high-speed trains for the extension of the TGV line from Kenitra to Marrakech, which is being built as part of the preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup in Morocco. In addition, the Moroccan government and the French company TotalEnergies signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the production and use of green hydrogen. In addition, the Moroccan Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) and the French energy company Engie concluded an agreement with potential investments of up to EUR 3.5 billion in the field of renewable energies. In the infrastructure sector, the French CMA CGM Group pledged around 258 million euros for the expansion of the container terminal in the port of Nador West Med, which will make it one of the central transhipment centres in the region and boost Morocco’s international trade volume. In addition, the education ministries of both countries signed a declaration of intent to expand the French education network and promote multilingualism. For example, the range of Arabic-language lessons on offer in France is to be expanded. The establishment of a French-Moroccan research centre in Africa, which will focus on future technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data and cyber security, was also agreed.
Another focus of the visit was the controversial topic of migration: In the fight against illegal migration, Macron called for even closer and more effective cooperation and France’s new Interior Minister Retailleau, who has made the issue his political priority, also met with his Moroccan counterpart Abdelouafi Laftit. The main topic of discussion was the readmission of irregularly migrated Moroccan nationals. Retailleau then announced to the press that they wanted to work together to improve the identification procedure for undocumented persons, shorten waiting times and increase the number of returns. However, a migration agreement, which Retailleau in particular had been pushing for, was not reached during the state visit. Following the parliamentary elections in France this summer, in which the radical right wing made significant gains, the pressure on the government to take a tougher stance on migration has increased. The repatriation of irregular migrants had already repeatedly led to tensions between Paris and Rabat.
Macron’s three-day state visit to Morocco is his first since 2018 and is characterised by the rapprochement between the two countries. On Monday, President Macron also invited the Moroccan king to pay a state visit to France. Even though there is no specific planned time frame yet, Mohammed VI. has already accepted the invitation, according to Moroccan media reports.
In other news
The 25th anniversary of the Goge Africa Festival in the Nigerian city of Lagos ended on Sunday under the motto ‘Symphony of Culture’. A total of 25 cultural groups took part in the events during the week and the closing ceremony at Mobolaji Johnson Stadium. The almost 20,000 visitors were offered a variety of entertainment formats, such as fashion shows, cookery competitions and comedy shows. Among the artists was the National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), which performed dances from various ethnic groups in Nigeria. The Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC) presented an exhibition entitled ‘Our Shared Heritage’, which showcased the richness of shared African history and culture. In addition, the festival included over 50 exhibition pavilions showcasing natural indigenous herbs, arts and crafts as well as sculptures.
Event information
From 12-17 November, the AFRIKAMERA 2024 film festival will present a selection of African films that open up diverse perspectives on key social and political issues of the present and future of the African continent. Under the motto BELIEVE, this year’s focus is on films that deal with questions of faith, spirituality and self-empowerment. The programme also marks the start of a four-year festival focus on current urban cinema from Africa. In subsequent years, the festival will be entitled CHANGE (2025), REFLECT (2026) and CREATE (2027). Information on the programme and ticket sales can be found here. In the coming week, we will also be giving away 2×2 free tickets on our Instagram channel @deutscheafrikastiftung for the screening of ‘Tug Of War’ on 17 November at 17:00 at Sinema Transtopia.