Botswana's president conceded defeat on Friday after his ruling party, which had ruled the diamond-rich African country for nearly six decades, suffered a resounding defeat in general elections. "I wish to congratulate the opposition on their victory and concede the election," President Mokgweetsi Masisi told reporters at a press conference. Preliminary results from Wednesday's election, with counting still underway, showed three opposition parties had together won at least 31 of 61 seats in the national legislature, according to tallies by AFP and other media.
This meant Masisi's Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has been in power since independence from Britain in 1966, could not get enough seats to govern. The result was a major blow for the BDP and Masisi, 63, who took office in 2018 and had been confident of securing a second term. The results are expected to be confirmed by the Independent Electoral Commission later Friday.
More than one million people were registered to vote on Wednesday, from a population of 2.6 million, with concerns about unemployment and mismanagement in Masisi's first term a leading complaint in the arid nation. "Opposition parties have garnered more than half of the parliamentary seats," the independent Mmegi newspaper wrote on Facebook.
"This means ruling Botswana Democratic Party has now officially lost state power." The left-leaning opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) had already secured more than 24 seats, party official Mike.