Description

In 2024, alongside Prof. Jeremy Seekings of the University of Cape Town and Dr Batleng Seabo of the University of Botswana we established the Botswana Elections Research Network (BERN) with the objective of monitoring and analyzing the national election of October 2024 and to build capacity for further research on future elections in Botswana. BERN is a non-partisan network of interested researchers inside and outside the country. The partners in this initiative are the Afrobarometer’s National Partner in Botswana (Star Awards), Democracy Research Project (DRP) at University of Botswana, the Botswana Centre for Public Integrity (BCPI), the University of Cape Town (through its Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy), Botswana Institute for Development and Policy Analysis (BIDPA), Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and the Botswana Society. We applied for funding to the tune of about P4 million Pula from the Embassy of the United States in Gaborone. We had hoped to use the funds to conduct research in all 61 constituencies in Botswana. Unfortunately, our funding application was not successful and we ended up conducting research on in Gaborone Central, Gaborone Bonnington North, Kgatleng West, Goodhope-Mmathethe and Shoshong constituencies. The University of Cape Town helped pay honorarium to the research assistants we had engaged in the research.
We have planned a workshop on 8-9 April 2025 for presentation of draft papers some of which will be revised and published in a special issue of the BOTSWANA NOTES & RECORDS journal in partnership with Brill publishing company of the Netherlands. The idea is to launch the publication as part of the 1 year anniversary of the country's first change of government in 58 years since independence.