Botswana was a dominant-party state with the Botswana Democratic Party in power for most of its history. Opposition parties were widely considered to have little chance of gaining a parliamentary majority until the 2024 Botswana general election which saw the Umbrella for Democratic Change win a parliamentary majority.
| Party | Leader | Ideology | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana Labour Party | BLP | Moiseraele Dibeela | Socialism Co-operative economics Economic nationalism | |||
| BMD | Thuso Tiego | |||||
| Botswana Republican Party | BRP | Biggie Butale | Christian democracy Social conservatism | |||
| Real Alternative Party | RAP | Gaontebale Mokgosi | Socialism Revolutionary socialism | |||
| Alliance name | Ideology | Existence | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=#000099 | Botswana Alliance Movement | BAM | Progressivism | 1999-2010 | |
| Botswana Freedom Party | BFP | ?-1994 | |||
| bgcolor=#000099 | Botswana Independence Party | BIP | 1962-1994 | ||
| Botswana Liberal Party | BLP | Liberalism | 1983-? | ||
| BPU | 1984-1991 | ||||
| bgcolor=#FFA500 | Botswana Workers Front | BWF | Nationalism Christian democracy | 1993-? | |
| Independence Freedom Party | IFP | 1994 | |||
| bgcolor=#FF0000 | MELS Movement of Botswana | MELS | Communism Marxism–Leninism Anti-revisionism Pan-Africanism | 1994-2013 | |
| bgcolor=#800080 | New Democratic Front | NDF | Progressivism | 2003-2004 | |
| Social Democratic Party | SDP | Social democracy | 1999 | ||
| United Action Party | UAP | Familialism Youth rights Feminism | 1999-? | ||
| United Socialist Party | USP PUSO | Left-wing politics | 1994-1999 | ||
Majority of Batswana are not opposed to a dominant-party system, so long as elections are free and fair . Afrobarometer . 2023-04-27 . 1-5 . 2024-05-12. Parteien und Parteiensysteme in Afrika . . 2005 . 2024-11-19.