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 Labour Party	BLP	Moiseraele Dibeela	Socialism Co-operative economics Economic nationalism
		Botswana Movement for Democracy	BMD	Thuso Tiego	Right-wing populism
		Botswana Republican Party	BRP	Biggie Butale	Christian democracy Social conservatism
		Real Alternative Party	RAP	Gaontebale Mokgosi	Socialism Revolutionary socialism

Historical

Alliance name		Abbr.	Ideology	Existence
	Botswana Alliance Movement	BAM	Progressivism	1999-2010
	Botswana Freedom Party	BFP		?-1994
	Botswana Independence Party	BIP		1962-1994
	Botswana Liberal Party	BLP	Liberalism	1983-?
	Botswana Progressive Union	BPU		1984-1991
	Botswana Workers Front	BWF	Nationalism Christian democracy	1993-?
	Independence Freedom Party	IFP		1994
	MELS Movement of Botswana	MELS	Communism Marxism–Leninism Anti-revisionism Pan-Africanism	1994-2013
	New Democratic Front	NDF	Progressivism	2003-2004
	Social Democratic Party	SDP	Social democracy	1999
	United Action Party	UAP	Familialism Youth rights Feminism	1999-?
	United Socialist Party	USP PUSO	Left-wing politics	1994-1999

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.

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2005). Parteien und Parteiensysteme in Afrika (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 19 November 2024.