The urgency of electoral reforms

Mmegi Editor | Tuesday November 4, 2014 15:43

For one, Botswana is under a ‘minority’ rule, as the ruling party has for the first time in 48 years, failed to achieve more than 50% of the popular vote.

With 46.7% of the popular vote the ruling party is still firmly in government thanks to the First-Past-The-Post electoral system. Furthermore the ruling party’s representation in Parliament stands at around 67% while the combined opposition representation is around 33%. How did that happen? The answer is simple; First-Past-The-Post.

On paper over 50% of Batswana have rejected the ruling party. 

As it stands the ruling party does not have the mandate to govern, but this outdated and controversial system has prolonged its stay in power. Unfortunately because of this system, voices of over 50% Batswana who rejected the ruling Botswana Democratic Party does not matter. Their votes have been wasted; they spent hours in queues for nothing. How tragic. 

Proponents of this archaic system often forgot that democracy, is the government of the people by the people for the people, hence majority should govern.  And that majority can only be anything more than 50% nothing else. The people should govern. In any case supreme power should be vested in the people.

It is shameful that politicians from across the political divide are not taking note of this anomaly. It is politics as usual for members of the three major political parties in the country. No political party has made this a priority in the coming session of Parliament. What a shame. Perhaps the time is ripe for political parties represented in Parliament to wake up from slumber and make sure representation in the House reflects the wishes of the voters. 

Here is what our new Members of Parliament should do; campaign for the scrapping of the First-Past-The-Post system for parliamentary and local government elections. 

It is bad for democracy. It’s a bad system. It generates a distorted image of voter preferences. It kills voices of minority parties.  We call for a more representative electoral system.

Secondly parliamentarians should call for the direct election of the President. Even where First-Past-The-Post system is still used to elect MPs and councillors, presidents are elected directly not 57 MPs’ as  is the case in the so-called Republic of Botswana.  It is important to have a leader with a clear mandate from the people.

It defeats logic that we have a President whose party has failed to achieve 50% in popular vote, yet he remains the most powerful person in the country.

                                                              Today’s thought

        “Visualise the tomorrow you are going to build, and begin to build that tomorrow, today.”

 

                                           – Jonathan Lockwood Huie