Diamond-Market Dip Spurs Seismic Political Shift in Botswana
- Human rights lawyer Boko is sworn in as the new president
- Voters punish Botswana Democratic Party for economic downturn
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An opposition coalition emerged as the shock winner of Botswana’s parliamentary elections, the first time power has changed hands in the diamond-dependent southern African nation since independence almost six decades ago.
Duma Boko, a Harvard-educated human rights lawyer, was sworn in as president Friday after his Umbrella for Democratic Change secured an outright majority in the 61-seat legislature. He succeeds Mokgweetsi Masisi, whose Botswana Democratic Party was widely expected to retain its majority, yet finished in fourth place.