Botswana vice president masisi collapses on top

Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi, who turned his country’s negotiations with De Beers into a protracted and sometimes bitter public spectacle, has lost his bid for reelection.

This marked the first-ever defeat for the Botswana Democratic Party, which has ruled the country since it declared independence in 1966.

Botswana vice president masisi collapses on top

Masisi had been Botswana’s president since 2018, and was vice president from 2014 to 2018.

His successor is Duma Boko, 54, leader of the Umbrella of Democratic Change, an alliance of left-leaning opposition parties founded in 2012.

A native of Botswana, Boko graduated from Harvard Law School in 1993 and served as a human rights lawyer and academic before entering politics.

One key campaign issue was Botswana’s economy, which has suffered due to the growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds.

Sales at Debswana, the joint venture between the government and De Beers, dropped 50% during the first nine months of the year.

“Botswa