General elections were held in Botswana on 26 October 1974. With 205,050 registered voters, turnout was just 31.22%.[1] The result was a third successive landslide victory for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), who won 27 of the 32 elected seats,[2] including four in which they were unopposed.[3] Local elections were held on the same day, with a turnout of just 30.3%, and saw the BDP strengthen its position.[3]
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32 of the 36 seats in the National Assembly 17 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 205,050 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Campaign
editA total of 63 candidates contested the elections. The BDP ran a full slate of 32 candidates, the Botswana National Front had 14 candidates, the Botswana People's Party had eight, the Botswana Independence Party had six, and there were three independents.[3]
Results
edit| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana Democratic Party | 49,047 | 76.62 | 27 | +3 | |
| Botswana National Front | 7,358 | 11.49 | 2 | –1 | |
| Botswana People's Party | 4,199 | 6.56 | 2 | –1 | |
| Botswana Independence Party | 3,086 | 4.82 | 1 | 0 | |
| Independents | 321 | 0.50 | 0 | New | |
| Indirectly-elected members | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 64,011 | 100.00 | 36 | +1 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 205,050 | – | |||
| Source: EISA, Nohlen et al. | |||||
Notes
edit- ^ Incumbent presidents are ineligible to contest National Assembly seats; instead, they serve as ex-officio members of Parliament.
References
edit- ^ Botswana: 1974 National Assembly results EISA
- ^ Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p113 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
- ^ a b c Botswana: The October 1974 General Election EISA