Botswanans headed to polling stations Wednesday to cast their ballots for new parliamentarians and local authorities.
GABORONE, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Botswanans headed to polling stations Wednesday to cast their ballots for new parliamentarians and local authorities.
Queues started forming at most polling stations across the country before the scheduled opening time of 6:30 a.m., local time.
About 1.038 million people have registered to vote in the 13th post-independence general elections.
According to the southern African country's electoral law, the polling will determine 61 members of the National Assembly and 609 local councilors, with the party that holds at least 31 parliament seats to be declared as the winner.
Mokgweetsi Masisi, Botswana's incumbent president and leader of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party, is expected to vote in Moshupa village, Southern District. Masisi's main opponent, Duma Boko of the Umbrella for Democratic Change, will cast his ballot in Gaborone, the country's capital.
Presidential candidates also include Dumelang Saleshando of the Botswana Congress Party and Mephato Reatile of the Botswana Patriotic Front.
Botswana's Independent Electoral Commission Spokesperson Osupile Maroba told journalists at the election command center in Gaborone that a few polling stations did not open on time.
"But the majority of polling stations, almost 99 percent of the more than 1,800 of them, opened well in time," he said.
Polling stations are slated to close at 7 p.m., local time after which the counting of votes will immediately begin, according to the election officials. ■
