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.
Current parties
Parties represented in the National Assembly
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="3" |Alliance
!
! colspan="3" |Party
!!! Ideology !! Seats
|-
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="" |
| rowspan="3" |center|frameless|70x70px
| rowspan="3" |Umbrella for<br/>Democratic<br/>Change
| rowspan="3" |UDC
| bgcolor="#7D16BF" |
|
|Alliance for Progressives
|AP
|
| rowspan="3" |
|-
| bgcolor="" |
|center|75x75px
|Botswana People's Party
|BPP
|
|-
| bgcolor="#FFBF00" |
|center|75x75px
|Botswana National Front
|BNF
|Social democracy<br />Christian left
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="3" |
| bgcolor="" |
|
|Botswana Congress Party
|BCP
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#fece00" |
|center|75x75px
|Botswana Patriotic Front
|BPF
|Populism
|
|-
| bgcolor="#E61D25" |
|center|75x75px
| Botswana Democratic Party
|BDP|| Paternalistic conservatism||
|-
|}
Minor parties
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="3" |Party
!
!Leader!! Ideology
|-
| style="background:#C19B6C;" |
|
|Botswana Labour Party
|BLP
|Moiseraele Dibeela
|
|-
|bgcolor=#F07E01|
|center|75x75px
| Botswana Movement for Democracy
|BMD
|Julius Baitumetse|| Right-wing populism
|-
| bgcolor="" |
|center|75x75px
| Botswana Republican Party
|BRP
|Biggie Butale||
|-
| style="background:#76402b;"|
|
|Real Alternative Party
|RAP
|Gaontebale Mokgosi
|
|}
Historical
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan="2" |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
|
|1993-?
|-
!
|Independence Freedom Party
|IFP
|
|1994
|-
| bgcolor=#FF0000 |
|MELS Movement of Botswana
|MELS
|
|1984-2013
|-
| bgcolor=#800080 |
|New Democratic Front
|NDF
|Progressivism
|2003-2004
|-
!
|Social Democratic Party
|SDP
|Social democracy
|1999
|-
!
|United Action Party
|UAP
|
|1999-?
|-
!
|United Socialist Party
|USP<br />PUSO
|Left-wing politics
|1994-1999
|}
Political alliances
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Alliance name
!
!Ideology
!Existence
|-
| bgcolor=#0000CD |
|United Democratic Front
|UDF
|
|1999-2010
|}
See also
- Politics of Botswana
- Lists of political parties
- Elections in Botswana
- National Assembly (Botswana)