The Botswana Independence Party (BIP) was a political party in Botswana that existed from 1962 to 1994.
The BIP was founded in 1962 by former members of the Botswana People's Party (BPP) and was led by Motsamai Mpho.
During its existence, the BIP played the role of a minor opposition party. The party participated in five national elections (1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, and 1989), but managed to gain representation in the National Assembly only twice (1969 and 1974), both times winning only one seat.
In 1994, the BIP merged with the Botswana Freedom Party (BFP) to form the Independence Freedom Party (IFP) under the leadership of Motsamai Mpho. The IFP won only 3% of the vote and no seats in elections held on 15 October 1994. Soon after, the IFP ceased to exist.
The party advocated for pan-africanism,D.I. Ray:Dictionary of the African Left, Dartmouth Publishing Company Ltd., 1988, p. 67 social democracy,D.I. Ray: Dictionary of the African Left, Dartmouth Publishing Company Ltd., 1988, p. 67 centrismJ.H. Polhemus:The Journal of Modern African Studies Vol. 21, no. 3: Botswana Votes: Parties and Elections in an African Democracy, p. 404 and later for liberalism and neoliberalism.D. Sebudubudu, B. Z Osei-Hwedie: In permanent opposition: Botswana's other political parties, in: South African Journal of International Affairs 17(1):85-102, April 2010, p. 100: "leftist until the emergence of neoliberalism"
Electoral results + Year Leader Votes % Seats Seat change Rank Status 1965 Motsamai Mpho 6,491 4.61% 0 3rd 1969 4,601 6.01% 1 4th 1974 3,086 4.82% 0 4th 1979 5,657 4.21% 1 4th 1984 7,288 3.20% 0 4th 1989 6,209 2.48% 0 4th
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