Nasha, who was nominated as Botswana’s first female speaker after 2009 general elections, told Duma FM that she has resigned from the ruling party with immediate effect, adding that one of the reasons to join the UDC is that she had realized that “it was having a sense of political direction that appealed to her”.
Nasha won the parliament seat in 1999 representing the ruling party. She also served as the minister of local government and the minister of presidential affairs, according to media reports.
Although there is still some time until the next general elections expected in 2019, campaigns between BDP and opposition parties for drawing new members have been underway, which have seen both two sides pulling out new members from each other.
The ruling party has been in power since independence in 1966. In last general elections in 2014, it won the majority of parliament seats with 37 seats out of 57, while the main opposition UDC posted the best performance by an opposition in the history of Botswana by winning 17 seats.
Despite of successive victories, the ruling party’s popular votes dropped from 53.26% in 2009 to 46.45% in 2014, according to reports. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
