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In Botswana, the Leader of the Opposition is the Dumelang Saleshando who is the head of the Leading opposition party, the Botswana Congress Party. The position is awarded to the leader of the political party with the largest number of seats in the National Assembly that is not in the government. The position was created shortly before the independence of Botswana, after the first elections under universal suffrage in the then territory of Bechuanaland.
| Leader of the Opposition of the National Assembly of Botswana | |
|---|---|
 | |
since 11 November 2024 | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Appointer | Largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government |
| Term length | While leader of the largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government |
| Inaugural holder | Philip Matante |
| Formation | 3 March 1965 |
| Salary | P641,436[1] |
As in most countries that are governed under the Westminster parliamentary system, the leader of the Opposition is an elected member of the National Assembly who enjoys numerous particular prerogatives. They are considered the main spokesman for the majority opposition party in the National Assembly and has the right to make official statements in the National Assembly on important national and international issues on behalf of the majority opposition. They have longer speaking times than ordinary members during debates on the State of the Union Address, the Budget Address, or any other major government policy statement, and can be the first to respond to the State of the Nation address, budget speech, or any other major statement of government policy.
By virtue of his position, the leader of the Opposition is an ex officio member of two Parliamentary Committees; the Selection Committee and the Business Advisory Committees. He also holds the positions of Second Vice President of the Botswana Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Executive Member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum and is an Executive Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Committee.[2] The current Leader of the Opposition is Dithapelo Keorapetse. He succeeded Dumelang Saleshando as Leader of the Opposition on the 12th of July 2022.[3]
List of the leaders of the opposition
editSource:[2]
| No. | Leader | Period | Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name | Start | End | |||
| 1 | 
|
Philip Matante (1912–1979) |
3 March 1965 | 23 August 1969 | Botswana People's Party | |
| 2 | 
|
Bathoen Gaseitsiwe (1908–1990) |
20 October 1969 | 20 July 1984 | Botswana National Front | |
| 3 | 
|
Kenneth Koma (1923–2007) |
10 January 1985 | 1 August 2003 | Botswana National Front | |
| 4 | 
|
Nehemiah Modubule | 1 August 2003 | 7 November 2005 | Botswana National Front | |
| 5 | 
|
Otsweletse Moupo | 7 November 2005 | 21 August 2009 | Botswana National Front | |
| 6 | 
|
Olebile Gaborone (born 1947) |
17 October 2009 | 5 August 2010 | Botswana National Front | |
| 7 | 
|
Botsalo Ntuane (born 1971) |
5 August 2010 | 12 July 2012 | Botswana Movement for Democracy | |
| 8 |
|
Dumelang Saleshando (born 1971) |
12 July 2012 | 29 August 2014 | Botswana Congress Party | |
| 9 | 
|
Duma Boko (born 1969) |
25 October 2014 | 28 August 2019 | Botswana National Front | |
| (8) |
|
Dumelang Saleshando (born 1971) |
5 November 2019 | 12 July 2022[3] | Botswana Congress Party | |
| 10 |
|
Dithapelo Keorapetse (born 1982) |
12 July 2022[3] | 5 September 2024 | Independent[a] | |
References
edit- ^ National Assembly (Salaries and Allowances) (Amendment) Act, 2019 (PDF). Parliament of Botswana. p. 2.
- ^ a b "Leader of the Opposition". Parliament of Botswana. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Sejabosigo, Jeremiah (12 July 2023). "KEORAPETSE NEW LOO". DailyNews. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ Tlhankane, Mompati (1 August 2022). "The determined, unyielding Keorapetse". Mmegi. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
Notes
edit- ^ Originally a member of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Keorapetse, along with four other BCP MPs, faced expulsion from the party in July 2022 for defying the BCP Central Committee. This defiance occurred when they ousted the BCP leader, Dumelang Saleshando, from the position of Leader of the Opposition. Consequently, he is currently an independent and has not aligned with a specific political party, though he maintains an affiliation with the UDC.[4]