of the House of Chiefs (a largely
advisory 15-member body with 8 permanent members consisting of the
chiefs of the principal tribes, and 7 non-permanent members serving
5-year terms, consisting of 4 elected subchiefs and 3 members
selected by the other 12 members) and the National Assembly (63
seats, 57 members are directly elected by popular vote, 4 are
appointed by the majority party, and 2, the President and
Attorney-General, serve as ex-officio members; members serve
five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 30 October 2004
(next to be held October 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 51.7%, BNF 26.1%,
BCP 16.6%, other 5%; seats by party - BDP 44, BNF 12, BCP 1

Judicial branch:
High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each
district)

Political parties and leaders:
Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO];
Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Otlaadisa KOOSALETSE]; Botswana
Democratic Party or BDP [Festus G. MOGAE]; Botswana National Front
or BNF [Otswoletse MOUPO]; Botswana Peoples Party or BPP; MELS
Movement of Botswana or MELS; New Democratic Front or NDF
note: a number of minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the
BAM but did not capture any parliamentary seats - includes the
United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]; the Independence
Freedom Party or IFP [Motsamai MPHO]; the Botswana Progressive Union
[D. K. KWELE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM,
OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Lapologang Caesar LEKOA
chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990
FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Katherine H. CANAVAN
embassy: address NA, Gaborone
mailing address: Embassy Enclave, P. O. Box 90, Gaborone
telephone: [267] 353982
FAX: [267] 312782

Flag description:
light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center

Economy Botswana

Economy - overview:
Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest economic