Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies, Vol. 14 NO.1 (2000)
  Editorial preface
  Mpho G. Molomo
  Democracy Research Project
  University of Botswana
 Towards the close of the second millennium, most Southern African countries transformed
 themselves from dictatorial and one party regimes into democratic multi-party
 governments. These changes were heralded by the return to multi-party politics in Malawi,
 Tanzania and Zambia and the hosting of multi-party elections in Mozambique. Moreover,
 the end of white minority rule in South Africa, and an end to South Africa's illegal
 occupation of Namibia marked the end of racial strife in the region. Whereas the civil wars
 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola are still rife, there is a lot of optimism
 that peace and democracy are at hand.
       Botswana has been, perhaps more than any country in the region, a frontrunner in
 democratic politics, as the oldest surviving democracy in Africa. It has had eight
 uninterrupted regular council and parliamentary elections. Yet despite this laudable record,
 the structures and institutions that should institutionalise and consolidate democracy
 remain weak and ineffective. Dialogue among researchers, political and civil society actors
 is essential to create a favourable national environment in which democracy can flourish.
 This special issue, the Transition into the New Millennium provides a forum for the
 dissemination of research findings on Botswana's democratic process with a view to
 fortifying democratic governance.
      The study of the electoral process during the 1999 election was conducted under the
 auspices of the Democracy Research Project, which is a non-partisan, multidisciplinary
 research group at the University of Botswana. The aims and objectives of the project are:
       •    to research Botswana's political life and institutions;
      •     to support Batswana academics in their research on Botswana's democratic processes and
            institutions
      •     to support local politicians and political parties in their efforts to learn more about
            comparative political processes such as elections and political parties;
      •     to facilitate dialogue between different political parties. groups and members of the public
            on various issues pertaining to development and sustenance of democracy;
      •     to facilitate regional networks between groups bent on nurturing democracy; and
      •     to disseminate and publish research findings.
      In pursuance of these objectives, this special issue discusses the challenges presented
by democracy and governance in Botswana, especially with respect to the 1999 election.
The first article is by Mokopakgosi and Molomo, and it provides context for understanding
political discourse in Botswana by discussing the interface between government and
opposition parties. They highlight the weaknesses of opposition parties and their failure to
coalesce into a united opposition. Opposition parties have failed to emerge as credible
democratic alternatives to the rule of the Botswana Democratic Party. Mokopakgosi and
Molomo characterise Botswana as a two party system dominated by one political party.
      Lekorwe discusses how democracy can be enhanced at the local level. He discusses
the relationship between central government and district, town and city councils, and
argues for the decentralisation of authority. One of the most salient features of democratic
politics is effective and participatory politics at grassroots level.
      Matsheka and Botlhomilwe evaluate the relationship between economic conditions
and election outcomes in Botswana. Botswana's political stability and success is tied to the


  favourable economic climate in the country. With increased rates of urbanisation and
  higher levels of education, voters are increasingly issue-oriented when casting their votes.
       Voter apathy represents the weakest link in democratic discourse, and in an attempt to
  find its causes, Mpabanga analyses trends and patterns of voting by party for the past eight
  general elections. The article also offers a comparison of electoral trends in select SADC
 and industrialised countries. Mpabanga attributes the declining voter participation to low
 levels of voter education.
       Mokomane disaggregates voters according to their demographic features. She
 examines the relationship between party preference and selects demographic
 characteristics such as age, sex, place of residence, and educational background. The
 article demonstrates that there is a close correlation between age, sex and party preference.
       Chieftainship has been a factor in determining electoral outcomes and it is extremely
 relevant to assess it has mediated democratic struggles in the post-colonial period. Using
 case studies of the Central, Kgatleng and Ngwaketse Districts, Barei traces the decline on
 the role of chieftainship in election outcomes. Chieftainship has consolidated electoral
 outcomes in Central District and Ngwaketse, while Kgatleng has negated this thesis.
      Somolekae discusses how the frontiers of democracy have been widened through
 women's NOOs. She discusses the role played in particular by Emang Basadi. She
 concludes that, while the representation of women in Parliament and other senior positions
 in government is necessary, such representation does not ipso facto mean effective
 representation of women from all segments of society. The representation of women needs
 to be matched by concrete actions that will result in transformation of institutions and
 power relations in the whole society.
      Ntsabane and Ntau point to the patriarchal structure of Tswana society as one of the
 factors that tend to undermine youth participation in politics. Youth suffers from being
 perceived as the leadership of tomorrow, but not of today.
      The executive powers that the President enjoys have been a subject of academic and
 political debate in recent years. Molomo highlights areas where the President has exercised
 his executive powers such as a state of emergency and the granting of a sabbatical leave to
the Vice-President Ian Khama Seretse Khama. He concludes that the President must be
directly elected by the electorate to ensure greater accountability.
      A further article by Molomo shows how electoral systems are susceptible to
 manipulation and also determine the rules of how leaders are elected into public office. He
discusses the pros and cons of the First-Past- The-Post (FPTP), Semi-Proportional and
Proportional Representation (PR) electoral systems. Molomo argues that the FPTP system
that Botswana has used since independence promotes an effective link between a Member
of Parliament and his or her constituency. Yet this system is weak in terms of enhancing
popular participation in the political process, and tends to exclude marginal groups from
mainstream politics. The PR system stands out as the most democratic electoral system but
it also has some inherent weaknesses. It is said to lead to a proliferation of political parties
as well as being amenable to coalition governments, which are inherently unstable. As a
result, Molomo concludes the Mixed-Member Proportionality and or Parallel electoral
system would be best suited for Botswana.
      Finally, Molefe and Mguni discuss public opinion polls and demonstrate their
relevance and reliability. Despite being relatively new in Botswana, as a statistical tool
the~ hav.e.forecas~elections with great precision. Political parties have come to recognise
theIr valIdIty and Importance in predicting electoral outcomes.
      We would l!ke to.acknowledge the generous support of the Open Society Foundation
of. South~rn.Afnca WIthout which this study would not have been possible. We dedicate
thISspectallssue to all those who wish to nUrture and consolidate democracy in Botswana.
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