Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi yesterday conceded defeat in Botswana’s general election, ending the ruling party’s 58 years in power.
Masisi’s concession came before final results were announced, with his Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) trailing in fourth place in the parliamentary elections.
The main opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change held a strong lead in the partial results, making its candidate, Duma Boko, the favorite to become president of the southern African country, which is one of the world’s biggest producers of mined diamonds.
Photo: Reuters
Masisi said he had called Boko to inform him he was conceding defeat.
“I concede the election,” Masisi told an early-morning news conference two days after the election. “I am proud of our democratic processes. Although I wanted a second term, I will respectfully step aside and participate in a smooth transition process.”
“I look forward to attending the coming inauguration and cheering on my successor. He will enjoy my support,” he said.
Masisi’s BDP dominated politics in Botswana for nearly six decades, since independence from Britain in 1966. The nation of just 2.5 million people will now be governed by another party for the first time in its democratic history.
Botswana has been held up as one of Africa’s most stable democracies, with its economy largely relying on diamonds. Botswana is the world’s second-biggest producer of natural diamonds behind Russia.
However, the mood for change was evident as a downturn in the global demand for diamonds badly affected Botswana’s economy, with unemployment rising to more than 27 percent this year as the government saw a sharp decrease in revenue from diamonds.
Masisi and his party had faced criticism for not having done enough to diversify the economy.
Doko is a 54-year-old lawyer who also contested elections in 2014 and 2019.
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so