Botswana swore in new president Duma Boko Friday, cementing a whirlwind change of government after his landslide election victory last week kicked out the party in power for nearly 60 years.

Boko, 54, took the oath in front of several thousand people in the national stadium just nine days after his Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) crushed the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) at the ballot box.

“For nearly three score years, our democracy remained unbroken, unproven and untested. On the 30th of October this year, together, we tested this democracy,” Boko said in a speech afterwards.

“It is with pride and perhaps even a tinge of relief that I can proudly say we have passed this test with flying colours,” he said to cheers from the crowd.

“Together, we usher in a new political dawn.”

Boko’s left-leaning UDC won 36 seats in parliament compared to just four for the conservative BDP, in a stunning reversal for the party that had ruled diamond-rich Botswana since its independence from Britain in 1966.

Former president Mokgweetsi Masisi, who conceded defeat two days after the vote as his party’s colossal defeat became clear, was in the audience alongside leaders of other southern African countries including Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Although the crowd booed Masisi, the new president praised his predecessor’s “statesmanship”.

“Please give him some love,” Boko told the stadium.

“Botswana has set the example of a true democracy at work for the whole world to see and emulate. For that singular act, the former president will remain inscribed prominently in our hearts.”

– ‘United’, ‘committed’ –

Young voters made up about a third of the more than one million people registered to vote in the arid and sparsely populated country.

Many said they wanted change after nearly six decades of BDP rule, with main concerns being unemployment, the disparity between rich and poor and the economy, which has been hit by plummeting diamond sales, the mainstay of Botswana’s revenues.

Masisi’s government was also accused of mismanagement, nepotism and corruption.

Voter turnout was 80 percent in a country of 2.6 million people which is proud of the democratic system it installed at independence.

“You, my fellow Batswana, are the true architects of this day,” Boko said.

Dressed in a blue shirt and black tie — the colours of the Botswana flag — he started the event by circling the stadium in a vehicle, flanked by galloping white horses, and waving to the cheering crowd that filled the venue.

“For me, the attendance of Batswana from all walks of life demonstrates how united we are and committed to nation-building,” said Wabuya Keobonye, 88, a taxi driver who was present.

“Young people, we are the leaders of today, not tomorrow, and we demonstrated that through our participation in the vote,” said Ipotseng Negroes, 35, a farmer attending the inauguration.

“The power of Batswana is loud and clear, and what we want is change.”

– Jobs and homes –

The UDC ran on an ambitious campaign that pledged to create up to 500,000 jobs and build 100,000 houses in five years, cut water and electricity tariffs, and introduce health insurance for every citizen.

Boko has said a priority will be to stabilise relations with partners in the diamond industry, while diversifying the economy away from its dependence on the international diamond market.

Among the foreign guests at his inauguration was Zimbabwe opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, who said the regime change in Botswana fuelled “hopes for freedom” for his own country, where the Zanu-PF party has ruled since independence in 1980.

Chamisa in August 2023 lost an election he described as fraudulent to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was also present at Boko’s inauguration.

Botswana is “heralding an era of newness, an era of transformation, an era of effective transition” for the continent and region, Chamisa told the state broadcaster BTV.

“We believe that Africa needs a new leadership,” he said.

“We must reach out to build our continent and to make the continent of Africa one of the best in the world. And we can do it, and we must start now.”

By: Agence France-Presse