Politics of Botswana

Bostwana's Constitution, which was adopted on March 1965, one year before its independence, describes the nation as a parliamentary representative democratic republic.

The President of Botswana, currently Seretse Ian Khama, is both the head of state and the head of government. The President is being elected indirectly for a five-year term and is eligible to seek a second term in office. He is also the one who appoints the Vice President, currently Mompati Merafhe, and members of his cabinet.

Botswana's legislature is a bicameral Parliament. The House of Chiefs, the upper chamber of Parliament, primarily functions as an advisory body comprised of eight chiefs of Botswana's principal tribes, all of whom are serving as ex-officio members; and seven non-permanent members, comprised of four sub-chiefs and three members who were selected by other 12 members of the body, who serve a term of five years. On the other hand, the National Assembly, the lower house of Botswana's Parliament, consists of 57 members who were elected directly by voters, four members who were appointed by the majority party, and two ex-officio members, the President and the Attorney General.

The judicial system of Botswana consists of magistrate courts, a Court of Appeal and the High Court. The High Court has both civil and criminal jurisdiction. The judges are all being appointed by the President.

Since Botswana's independence from the United Kingdom in September 1966, the country has been dominated by one political party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). It never lost any election since then. Minor parties in the country include the Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) and Botswana Congress Party (BCP). Exhibition stands are useful at political rallies advertising various parties.