Across Gaborone billboard advertisements display party insignias while pamphlets are handed out and party supporters try to woo voters by megaphone from the back of pick-up trucks.
”This will be my first time voting and I definitely want to make a difference,” said Nissaria Kwele (23), a journalism student at the University of Botswana.
Kwele is among the more than 720 000 registered voters who will take part in the parliamentary elections in October. According to the secretary general of the Independent Electoral Commission, Gabriel Seeletso, the initial target of 650 000 voters registered for the 2009 election has been exceeded by 11%, while 31% more voters have registered than for the last election, in 2004.
The poll will be the first major test of Botswana’s President Ian Khama, who heads the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). The party has been in power since its establishment by the country’s founding president, Seretse Khama, in the 1960s.
Khama assumed office on April 1 last year after the retirement of Festus Mogae.
The build-up to the election has been a peaceful one in a country that has won international recognition for upholding democratic values. In May, Botswana won the ”Best African Country Award” from the Celebrate Africa Foundation.
However, the worsening economic environment poses significant challenges for many Batswana, giving the upcoming poll a special significance.
Diamond mining, the mainstay of the economy, has suffered heavily from the economic downturn. Debswana, a partnership between the Botswana government and De Beers, which is the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds, suspended mining at key mines Orapa, Letlhakane and Jwaneng in the first quarter of the year.
All but one of the mines has now reopened. But the latest De Beers financials highlight the severity of the downturn. In a statement the company noted that production for the first half of 2009, at 6,6-million carats, was 73% lower than in the same period last year.
”It is anticipated that carat production for the full year will be approximately 50% of that in 2008,” the statement added.
The slump has had a major adverse effect on government revenues and has swollen the chorus of voices calling for diversification of the economy.
Said Keith Jefferis, an independent economist and former Bank of Botswana deputy governor: ”Mineral revenue constitutes more than half of the total revenue generated by the Botswana government and accounts for close to 90% of the total export revenue in the country.”
The government recently signed a $1,5-billion economic diversification and budget-support loan from the African Development Bank to finance the budget deficit.
This is the first time Botswana has sought assistance of this kind after years of budget surpluses.
In addition, plans to expand manufacturing and agriculture have been affected by low levels of foreign direct investment. Because of the tiny domestic market the contribution of these sectors to GDP remains insignificant.
The economy, poverty, HIV/Aids and unemployment — currently estimated at 23,8% of the population, with those younger than 25 worst affected — are the main issues for the 14 parties registered for the October election.
The opposition Botswana Congress Party (BCP) is focusing on the ”restoration of democracy and diversification of the economy to create jobs and eradicate poverty”, while the Botswana National Front (BNF) is promising ”service to the nation, social justice and the building of a nation free from poverty, disease, ignorance and deprivation”.
The ruling BDP is singing from the same hymn book, promising ”poverty eradication and job creation through economic diversification in agriculture, while making further commitments to adhere to democratic principles and good governance”.
The BCP’s publicity secretary, Dumelang Saleshando, described Botswana’s main problem as ”too many advisers on economic issues and the lack of a national investment policy”. His party aims to promote an outward investment strategy and privatisation and ”not try to restrict the extent of diversification”, which he accused the BDP of doing.
The mood of voters is more sombre than it has been in previous elections. Reginald Molefhabangwe, a waiter at a Gaborone restaurant, said: ”It’s hard to not feel abandoned by the government. Food is expensive and there are no jobs, as companies prefer foreigners who are more qualified than us. Things are tough.”
Said Connie Molefhe, an employee at a supermarket: ”You can’t separate this election from the economy. Times have changed here in Botswana and many of us will be voting with our stomachs in mind.”