From Pre-Colony to Post-Colony: Continuities and Discontinuities in Political Power Relations and Governance in Botswana

Botswana has been praised for its adherence to parliamentary democracy and good governance and as the best hope for Africa.However, a closer examination of its much vaunted democracy reveals a top-down presidential system in which an unelected president has more power and authority than an elected Parliament and the country's parliamentary system does not ensure and facilitate broad-based and inclusive political participation in the decision-making process.This resembles the political power relations and governance systems of both the pre-colonial era under the chiefs and the colonial era of the resident commissioners.