GABORONE : Ballots in Botswana
Voters in Botswana, a country with a rare record of political stability in Africa, go to the polls Saturday. Analysts say they expect President Quett Masire’s Botswana Democratic Party will retain office.
But a drop in diamond revenues, which are the mainstay of the economy, and a sharp increase in unemployment have created support for the opposition, the Botswana National Front. The Front held only three seats out of 34 in the national Parliament that was dissolved last month.
The election will be the seventh since Botswana gained independence from Britain in 1966. It has enjoyed stable, democratic government ever since.
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