Botswana's governing party has suffered a shock election defeat after nearly six decades in power, preliminary election results show.President Mokgweetsi Masisi...

Spread This News Al Jazeera Botswana’s governing party has suffered a shock election defeat after nearly six decades in power, preliminary election results show. President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lost its grip on power on Friday after opposition parties won 31 of 61 seats in parliament, tallies released by the electoral commission showed.

Botswana's ruling BDP party loses majority in election, opposition coalition UDC wins 23 seats, according to Mmegi newspaper.

Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi has conceded defeat in the general election, in a seismic moment of change for the country that ended the ruling party’s 58 years in power since independence from Britain in the 1960s.

The BDP has won just one of the 36 constituencies so far, while the opposition coalition, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), has taken 23. To secure a majority, a party needs 31 seats.

After nearly 60 years, the Botswana Democratic Party lost its majority in Parliament, becoming the latest long-dominant party in southern Africa to fall from power.

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) a coalition of three parties led by Duma Boko (pictured) has taken an early lead in Bostwana election. At Election 2019, all the opposition parties together won 19 seats after a 100% count. This year they already have 14 seats at 23% of the count. With UDC having amassed […]