Khama and automatic succession

It is a well-documented fact that at the height of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) factional bickering, former president Sir Ketumile Masire initiated Constitutional amendment to make provision for automatic succession.

The initiator of automatic succession wanted to settle once and for all the question of succession. It was intended to create some semblance of political order, avert possible power struggles and ensure a smooth and peaceful transfer of power from one leader to another. The immediate beneficiary of automatic succession would later be former president, Festus Mogae in 1998 and later the sitting President, Ian Khama in 2008. Without watering down the demerits of automatic succession, it is credited for serving the nation well during the period of transition from Masire regime to Mogae and from Mogae to Khama.