6 JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ELECTIONS ELECTORAL COMPETITION IN BOTSWANA Is the Playing Field Level? David Sebudubudu and Bugalo Maripe Professor David Sebudubudu is a professor of Political Science and Head of the Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Botswana e-mail:
[email protected] Bugalo Maripe is a senior lecturer in the Department of Law, University of Botswana e-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT The central thesis of this article is that the electoral process in Botswana belies the oft-cited claim that the country is a haven of democracy. Botswana has held ten successive elections since 1965, yet the same party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), has been returned to power without fail. At a glance, and taking these elections into consideration, Botswana would appear to be an extraordinary country in the African context – one where democracy is in the process of consolidation. Far from it. A closer assessment shows that Botswana’s electoral competition is deceptive and that there is a deficit of competitive elections, a key requisite for the consolidation of democracy. The article examines the factors that contribute to the flawed electoral competition and concludes that the country’s electoral process does not satisfy international standards of free and fair elections. INTRODUCTION Since the term democracy was first used, in the fifth century BC (Holden 1993), unending convoluted debates about its definition have preoccupied scholars, practitioners and students of politics. What is evident from the literature is that there is no one satisfactory or acceptable definition of democracy. This remains a puzzle, if not a paradox, as there has been no unanimity in defining it (Morlino 2012; Economist Intelligence Unit – EIU 2010).