2004 Botswana local elections explained

Local elections in Botswana were held on 30 October 2004 for the district councils of the Districts of Botswana. Local government is administered by nine district and five town councils. District commissioners have executive authority.^[1]

Overall Results

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	336	33
Botswana National Front	105	25
Botswana Congress Party	32	19
Botswana Alliance Movement	9	0
Botswana People's Party	3	3
Independents	3	3
Total	490	85
Registered Voters	550,413
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	419,503 (76.2%)
Invalid Votes	8,570
Total Valid Votes	410,933
Source: ^[2]

Results By District

Central District

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	128	24
Botswana Congress Party	6	5
Botswana National Front	4	4
Botswana Alliance Movement	1	0
Independents	1	0
Total	140	34
Registered Voters	153,774
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	111,664 (72.6%)
Invalid Votes	3,191
Total Valid Votes	108,473
Source:

The election in one ward was postponed due to the death of a candidate. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) won the seat in a by-election held on 4 December 2004, bringing their total to 128 seats.

Francistown City

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	16	2
Botswana Congress Party	2	2
Botswana People's Party	1	1
Total	19	3
Registered Voters	26,172
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	17,534 (67.0%)
Invalid Votes	277
Total Valid Votes	17,257
Source:

Elections in one ward were postponed because the party symbol for one of the contestants was erroneously omitted. The Botswana People's Party (BPP) won the seat in a by-election held on 4 December 2004, giving it one seat.

Gaborone City

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana National Front	16	2
Botswana Democratic Party	11	4
Botswana Congress Party	3	3
Total	30	5
Registered Voters	46,246
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	35,037 (75.8%)
Invalid Votes	180
Total Valid Votes	34,857
Source:

Ghanzi District

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	13	2
Botswana National Front	7	4
Total	20	2
Registered Voters	14,294
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	11,597 (81.1%)
Invalid Votes	374
Total Valid Votes	11,223
Source:

Jwaneng

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana National Front	7	0
Total	7	0
Registered Voters	5,226
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	4,012 (76.8%)
Invalid Votes	36
Total Valid Votes	3,976
Source:

Kgalagadi District

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	13	0
Botswana National Front	9	2
Total	22	2
Registered Voters	18,070
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	15,153 (83.9%)
Invalid Votes	254
Total Valid Votes	14,899
Source:

Kgatleng District

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	10	2
Botswana National Front	8	2
Botswana Congress Party	5	2
Total	23	2
Registered Voters	28,064
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	22,135 (78.9%)
Invalid Votes	347
Total Valid Votes	21,788
Source:

Kweneng District

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	47	5
Botswana National Front	17	10
Botswana Congress Party	2	1
Total	66	16
Registered Voters	74,279
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	57,103 (76.9%)
Invalid Votes	1,048
Total Valid Votes	56,055
Source:

Lobatse

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana National Front	8	1
Botswana Democratic Party	4	2
Total	12	1
Registered Voters	10,953
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	8,054 (73.5%)
Invalid Votes	136
Total Valid Votes	7,918
Source:

North-East District

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	16	1
Botswana People's Party	3	3
Botswana Alliance Movement	0	2
Total	19	2
Registered Voters	17,739
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	13,551 (76.4%)
Invalid Votes	162
Total Valid Votes	13,389
Source:

North-West District

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	31	1
Botswana Alliance Movement	8	4
Botswana Congress Party	5	1
Botswana National Front	1	0
Independents	1	1
Total	46	6
Registered Voters	51,376
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	40,346 (78.5%)
Invalid Votes	907
Total Valid Votes	39,439
Source:

Selibe Phikwe

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	9	2
Botswana Congress Party	5	2
Total	14	1
Registered Voters	17,306
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	13,871 (80.2%)
Invalid Votes	113
Total Valid Votes	13,758
Source:

South-East District

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	12	1
Botswana National Front	5	0
Botswana Congress Party	3	3
Total	20	2
Registered Voters	19,721
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	15,828 (80.3%)
Invalid Votes	368
Total Valid Votes	15,460
Source:

Southern District

Party	Seats	+/-
Botswana Democratic Party	26	0
Botswana National Front	24	6
Botswana Congress Party	1	1
Independents	1	0
Total	52	6
Registered Voters	67,223
Total Voters (Voter Turnout)	53,618 (79.8%)
Invalid Votes	1,177
Total Valid Votes	52,441
Source:

There was a tie in one constituency and a re-election was held on 8 January 2005. The Botswana National Front (BNF) candidate won, bringing their total to 24 seats.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Botswana (12/09) . State.gov archives.
2. Web site: 2004 Local Elections in Botswana . 2024-05-04 . africanelections.tripod.com.