Khama�s popularity drops by 10%- Study

Keikantse Lesemela | Monday September 29, 2014 09:44

 

Despite  Khama’s waning popularity, the study shows that if elections had been held in June and July this year, the rulling Botswana Democratic Party would  win by 52%.

The study also shows that the Botswana Congress Party would post 20%  of the votes, an upward trend from its last performance.

Interestingly the study shows that  a whopping  44 percent of Batswana believe opposition parties present a viable alternative government to the ruling party, while 37 percent  remain conservative.

Presenting the finding on Friday, Public Administration management and researcher, Mogopodi Lekorwe said Batswana’s trust in opposition parties remains low, languishing at 37 percent, although there has been a modest increase of seven percent compared to the 2008 survey.  “If elections were held in June or July, the BDP would win elections although most of them say political leaders serve their own political ambitions,” he said.

Lekorwe further said Botswana Congress Party (BCP) would consolidate its position as the strongest opposition party with 20 percent voter confidence, while the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) trailed behind with 13 percent. The research findings revealed that 65 percent of Batswana believe that leaders of political parties are more concerned with serving their own political ambitions, compared to 29 percent who believe they are genuinely committed to serving their people.

“Whilst the president and traditional leaders are the most trusted figures in Botswana’s institutions, other bodies are accorded less trust. Government performance is said to have declined in 2014 compared to previous years,” the findings revealed.

The study also concluded that Botswana’s government performance had declined and that Batswana had lost faith in local institutions this year.  Sixty seven percent of Batswana trusted the president in 2014, representing a ten percent drop from 2008. Fifty five percent trust Parliament, 59 percent trust the ruling party while 53 percent trust the local government. “Botswana’s trust in traditional leaders is the highest with 72 percent of all the institutions considered,” said Lekorwe.

The job performance approval of the president is the highest at 79 percent, followed by traditional leaders with 75 percent, members of Parliament with 56 percent and local councilors at 53 percent.

The findings also indicated that government performance in handling matters had declined. The factor for managing the economy also dropped from 76 percent in 2008, to 67 percent in 2012 and now 64 percent in 2014.