16 Dec 2025

The National Assembly on Friday decided to defer a motion by Maun East Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile that sought to align the term of office of MPs with that of Cabinet and councilors.Mr Kekgonegile had proposed in his motion “that this honourable House resolves to request government to reconcile the tenure of Members of Parliament with that of members of Cabinet and councilors to 60 months as per constitutional term of contract.”But after a short debate, Mr Kekgonegile formally requested for his motion to be deferred to a later date, after being asked by fellow legislators to do so.
In tabling his motion earlier on, Mr Kekgonegile said the constitution of Botswana was clear that the term of office for MPs was five years, or 60 months, but the constitution also provided for the dissolution of Parliament further stipulated in the Electoral Act.The dissolution of Parliament by the President, who also issues writ of elections and election instruments before the general election is held, means MPs do not get to serve a full five year term, Mr Kekgonegile argued.He lamented that it created a vacuum where there were no area MPs in the two months leading up to a general election and also created a discrepancy between MPs and their colleagues who serve in Cabinet, as the executive served until election day.
‘The purpose of this motion is to align the term of office of Cabinet ministers, MPs local councilors and also to bring to fruition the spirit of the letter of the constitution of a five year parliamentary representative term of office,” said Mr Kekgonegile.He added that constituents continued to need the assistance of their parliamentary representatives but in the two months leading up to national polls, people struggled to get assistance from the vacant constituency office.Mr Kekgonegile said the changes his motion would bring about included avoiding the uncertainty of the past such as when Parliament was dissolved then reconvened under a State of Emergency ahead of the 1999 general elections during the tenure of former President Dr Festus Mogae.
Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi, said he found the overall intent of the motion to be in order. But the third time legislator said he recalled that a similar motion had been passed by Parliament before, but a legal impediment that prevented it from being signed into law.Mr Mmolotsi thus pleaded with Mr Kekgonegile to defer the motion while research and legal advice could be pursued to clear any potential impediment to its passing.Minister of Higher Education, Mr Prince Maele, then clarified that the similar motion had been brought to Parliament on March 2014 by former Lobatse, MP Mr Nehemiah Modubule, who then sought an amendment to Section 68 (1) of the constitution, which stipulated the tenure of office of MPs.He said during the debate that ensued at the time, it was advised that such amendment would have an effect on two other sections of the constitution- 91 (Prorogation and Dissolution of Parliament) and 93 (Sittings of the National Assembly).While the motion was passed by Parliament at the time, it still faced legal hurdles impending ratification, Mr Maele said.
Kgatleng West legislator, Dr Unity Dow, called for the motion to be taken to the parliamentary general assembly for further interrogation with legal advice from the parliamentary counsel and any other advisor deemed necessary.
She said the constitution did not stipulate the tenure of MP terms to be five years, but rather that it should not exceed a five-year period.Mr Kekgonegile acceded to the request from MPs that the debate on the motion be curtailed pending further legal advice; and while the motion was not withdrawn, it was deferred to a later date. ENDS