Election dates confirmed

Botswana will hold general elections on 30 October, President Mokgweetsi Masisi has confirmed. He said 30 and 31 October would be public holidays to allow people to ‘vote in large numbers’. Parliament will be dissolved today, he said. News24 reports that the names of the presidential candidates must be submitted by 28 September, and the parliamentary and local council candidates by 4 October. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has been in power since independence from Britain in 1966. The BDP on Saturday confirmed Masisi as its candidate. He launched the party manifesto the following day, promising jobs and a prosperous economy. The party won just over 52 of the votes in the 2019 election, ahead of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), which took nearly 36%. Masisi will face off against the UDC's Duma Boko and Dumelang Saleshando of the smaller Botswana Congress Party.