The report comes in the wake of concerns that the country’s leadership meddles in matters of the Judiciary.
A news release from Afrobarometer dated February 20, 2023; states that, “The Afrobarometer survey shows an overwhelming majority of Batswana say the President must always obey the country’s laws and court decisions, even if he thinks they are wrong.
The proportion of citizens who hold this view has been increasing steadily over the past decade.” Furthermore, it reveals that critics have accused President Masisi of interfering in the allocation of judges for some cases.
About 13% say since the President was elected to lead the country, he should not be bound by laws or court decisions that he thinks are wrong. However, the view that the President is bound by laws and court decisions is particularly strong amongst more educated citizens (91%) of those with post-secondary qualifications) and urban residents (92%), the survey indicates.
The study indicates that the proportion of citizens who say the President should be bound by the laws and the courts has increased by 17 percentage points since 2008. Commenting on the findings, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) spokesperson, Kagelelo Kentse said Afrobarometer has in its entire existence never said anything positive about the BDP or the BDP-led government. “First, they must tell us which court decisions the President has not respected and equally tell us how the President is meddling in the allocation of judges for some cases.
We may not have time to discuss unfounded allegations. One of the biggest commitments from our President is the respect for the rule of law,” he said. Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.
Eight survey rounds in up to 39 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 9 surveys will be completed in early 2023. Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice. The Afrobarometer team in Botswana, led by Star Awards, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,200 adult Batswana in July-August 2022. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in Botswana in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2019.
