The Presidential Commission of Enquiry into the Review of the Constitution’s 2022 report recommended that direct election of the President would be "a recipe for a chaotic government that would delay decision-making." When the Cabinet presented the White Paper to Parliament last year in the recently dissolved 12th Parliament, it rejected the ‘direct election’ submission, saying it "has the potential to destabilise governance and create chaos." Reiterating Cabinet’s fears as he seeks a second and last term on October 30, Masisi recently said the direct election of the President would be chaotic in terms of running government if the elected President does not have the majority in the House.
“The President does not run the country alone. He has advisers and Cabinet but in Parliament, majority is key. Our current Constitution allows swift governance so that all issues of finances are discussed and decided in Parliament. If you directly elect a President whose party does not have the majority in Parliament how do they run the country? Opposing parties will reject all the President’s proposals so if we are from different kraals, there will be back and forth rejections with no progress,” Masisi further bemoaned during the launch of BDP’s Kanye West parliamentary candidate, Dr Lemogang Kwape. He added that it would be difficult to get through a five-year term with a government like that. Masisi further indicated it was going to be difficult, if not impossible, for the President to get his legislative programmes enacted with a Head of State who does not have the majority in the House. He said the President will be rendered powerless because if the opposition has control of the House, it means that the latter can control what legislation is voted upon. He says the opposition gets into Parliament to shoot down their budget proposals and Bills and it is no wonder they rejected the Constitutional Review Amendment Bill in the 12th Parliament. Last month before Parliament was dissolved, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) legislators defied President Masisi’s clear instruction to pass the Constitutional Review Amendment Bill. Out of 40 BDP MPs who were in Parliament after opposition MPs walked out, only 37 supported the Bill and as a result, the BDP MPs who supported the Bill could not reach a two-thirds majority, which is a requirement by the Constitution for a constitutional review to pass. Masisi said what happened with the failed Bill was the more reason to fear what could happen if a President is in charge of a government where the lack of a majority will mean hitting a brick wall before enacting legislation.
