President Mokgweetsi Masisi has conceded defeat.

Boko has thanked the people of Botswana for entrusting him with a big responsibility.

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has commended Botswana for fair and peaceful elections and outgoing President Masisi for ensuring that there is smooth transfer of power.

Hichilema says he looks forward to continued cooperation with the new leadership.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has congratulated Boko as well.

While EFF leader Julius Malema has praised Boko for his unwavering perseverance and says already there’s an undertaking that visa restrictions against him will be lifted.

The SADC observer mission says the elections were conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner where the people of Botswana exercised their democratic right to vote.

Nearly six decades of rule by one political party in Botswana ended on Friday as President Masisi conceded electoral defeat.

Preliminary results showed his Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) had lost its parliamentary majority by a landslide in Wednesday’s election.

The BDP has ruled Botswana since independence from Britain in 1966.

Analysts say mounting socio-economic grievances, particularly among young people, were the BDP’s downfall.

Botswana has largely depended on diamonds for its income – but a downturn in the global diamond market has caused economic growth to plummet this year. 


--SABC/Reuters--