| MOTSWANA -BATSWANA GOVERNMENT STATS: |
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Administrative divisions
9 districts and 5 town councils*; Central, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Jwaneng*, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Northeast, Northwest, Selebi-Pikwe*, Southeast, Southern |
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Capital city > Geographic coordinates
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24 45 S, 25 55 E |
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Constitution
March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 |
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Corruption
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5.9 |
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[35th of 160]
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Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address
Embassy Enclave, P. O. Box 90, Gaborone |
Executive branch > Cabinet
Cabinet appointed by the president |
Executive branch > Chief of state
President Seretse Khama Ian KHAMA (since 1 April 2008); Vice President Mompati MERAFHE (since 1 April 2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government |
Flag description
light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center |
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Government type
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parliamentary republic |
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Independence
30 September 1966 (from UK) |
Judicial branch
High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) |
Legal system
based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch
bicameral Parliament consists 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) |
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Parliamentary seats > Female
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9% |
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[71st of 143]
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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
First People of the Kalahari (Bushman organization); Pitso Ya Ba Tswana; Society for the Promotion of Ikalanga Language (Kalanga elites) |
Status
democracy |
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal |
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Time required to start a business > days
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108 days
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[12th of 171]
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Transnational Issues > Disputes > International
Botswana still struggles to seal its border from thousands of Zimbabweans who flee economic collapse and political persecution; Namibia has long supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River at Kazungula crossing, thereby de facto recognizing the short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary |
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