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/alliances

Party/Alliance			Abbr.	Ideology	Seats in the National Assembly
		Umbrella for Democratic Change List Alliance for Progressives Botswana People's Party Botswana National Front	UDC	Social democracy Left-wing populism	36 / 69
		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

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.