Under the constitution of Botswana the BDP however is a lawful and legitimate government in spite of using the questionable First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system, since it was approved by our parliament. The system none-theless isn’t as democratic It should be. For example take a constituency with 30,000 registered voters. Three parties are competing for the seat; assume the three, share the votes as follows: Party X -12,000, Party Y - 10,000, Party Z – 8,000; Party X wins the seat though the combined poll of Y and Z (10,000 + 8,000 =18,000) exceeds Party X’s votes by 6,000! Is it fair?
If democracy is premised on the majority principle, you wonder why this electoral system passes the democracy test. Explanation is: Democracy is based on the rule of law which often can be a rigmarole process: In terms of democracy people make the constitution, the supreme law of the country; if the constitution passed by parliamentary representatives (MP) states that , ‘the FPTP’ electoral system shall be the method used in the country to determine who wins the general elections whenever held, then that’s the indisputable law which must be obeyed. And it’s democratic . Why must I then complain of a minority government when it is quite legal and constitutional?
