23 Jul 2026

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC)-led government will not conduct an audit of the 2019 General Elections, despite the party’s long-held position that the elections were rigged in favour of the then ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).

This was said by Minister for State President, Defence and Security, Mr Moeti Mohwasa, answering a question in Parliament on Wednesday.
Minister Mohwasa said the UDC had never hidden its suspicions regarding the credibility of the 2019 polls.

He said those concerns had prompted the party to file 19 election petitions before the High Court in an effort to have the alleged irregularities adjudicated.

“Unfortunately, almost all the petitions were dismissed on technical grounds, without the benefit of getting to the substantive core of the disputes,” he said.

Mr Mohwasa, however, said the UDC government was now focused on addressing national priorities, including economic transformation, job creation and strengthening Botswana’s governance architecture.

He said revisiting issues that had been overtaken by events, such as the 2019 General Election petitions, would not be a prudent use of government resources.

“Consequently, the UDC government will not conduct an audit of the 2019 General Elections,” he said.

The minister, however, emphasised that government remained committed to implementing comprehensive electoral reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s democratic processes.

He said an All-Party Conference would be held on July 31, to engage stakeholders on measures intended to enhance the integrity, transparency and credibility of the electoral system.

Mr Mohwasa added that additional reforms would be introduced following completion of the Comprehensive Constitutional Review process.

He reiterated that government’s commitment to electoral reform had remained consistent both before and after the 2024 General Elections.

“Government’s dedication to introducing electoral reforms in Botswana remains fixed in place. This is a pledge that government is going to fulfil through all the necessary consultative processes,” he said.

MP for Serowe South, Mr Leepetswe Lesedi, had asked whether, following UDC’s allegations of widespread electoral fraud and election rigging during the 2019 General Elections, government had undertaken any inquiry now that it was in power and had access to state information to establish whether the elections had indeed been manipulated.

Mr Lesedi also wanted to know whether any investigation had identified officials within the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) or the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) as having participated in any alleged electoral malpractice and what action government intended to take against those found responsible.

He further asked whether criminal charges would be preferred against members of the BDP leadership who had allegedly been involved in election rigging, as claimed in the election petitions filed by the UDC following the October 2019 General Election.

Additionally, he requested the minister to outline the measures government was putting in place to ensure that election rigging could never occur in Botswana in future.

The Serowe South legislator further asked whether government saw the need for an independent audit of the 2019 General Elections in light of evidence contained in sworn court affidavits and the findings of a forensic audit reportedly conducted by South African-based Forensics for Justice, headed by Mr Paul O’Sullivan, which allegedly pointed to election rigging, money laundering and fraud during the 2019 polls. ENDS