Botswana to hold elections on October 23

Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi has ordered general elections on October 23, as tensions rise with his estranged predecessor, Ian Khama, the man who put him in the top job.

Khama, whose father led the southern African country to independence, has accused Masisi of becoming an autocrat and threatening the country’s reputation as a beacon of stability in a troubled continent.

Masisi has called for “the holding of the 2019 General Elections to fill the 57 National Assembly vacancies and 490 local government vacancies,” Osupile Maroba from the national election commission said late Friday.

The last date for nominations is September 26.

The country has been ruled by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) uninterruptedly since it gained independence from Britain in 1966.

This year the BDP will come face to face with the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).