List of political parties in Botswana

Botswana was a dominant-party state with the Botswana Democratic Party in power for most of its history. Opposition parties were widely considered to have little chance of gaining a parliamentary majority until the 2024 Botswana general election which saw the Umbrella for Democratic Change win a parliamentary majority.

Current parties

Parties represented in the National Assembly

Alliance			Abbr.	Party			Abbr.	Ideology	Seats
		Umbrella for Democratic Change	UDC			Alliance for Progressives	AP	Social liberalism Civic nationalism	36 / 69
						Botswana People's Party	BPP	Democratic socialism Pan-Africanism
						Botswana National Front	BNF	Social democracy Christian left
						Botswana Congress Party	BCP	Social democracy Third Way	15 / 69
						Botswana Patriotic Front	BPF	Populism	5 / 69
						Botswana Democratic Party	BDP	Paternalistic conservatism	4 / 69

Minor parties

Party			Abbr.	Leader	Ideology
		Botswana Movement for Democracy	BMD	Thuso Tiego	Right-wing populism
		Botswana Republican Party	BRP	Biggie Butale	Christian democracy Social conservatism

Historical

Alliance name		Abbr.	Ideology	Existence
	Botswana Alliance Movement	BAM	Progressivism	1999-2010
	Botswana Independence Party	BIP		1962-1994
	Botswana Workers Front	BWF	Nationalism Christian democracy	1993-?
	MELS Movement of Botswana	MELS	Communism Marxism–Leninism Anti-revisionism Pan-Africanism	1994-2013
	New Democratic Front	NDF	Progressivism	2003-2004

Political alliances

Alliance name		Abbr.	Ideology	Existence
	United Democratic Front	UDF	Nationalism Christian democracy	founded in 1994

See also

• Politics of Botswana
• Lists of political parties
• Elections in Botswana
• National Assembly (Botswana)

References

Citations

Afrobarometer (27 April 2023). Majority of Batswana are not opposed to a dominant-party system, so long as elections are free and fair (PDF) (Report). pp. 1–5. Retrieved 12 May 2024.