(Bloomberg) — An opposition coalition emerged as a surprise winner in Botswana’s parliamentary elections, the first time power has changed hands in the diamond-dependent southern African country since its independence nearly 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 absolute majority in the Legislative Assembly’s 61 seats. He succeeds Mokgweetsi Masisi, whose Botswana Democratic Party was expected to retain its majority, but who nevertheless finished in fourth place.

Voters punished the BDP for the economic downturn triggered by the collapse of the diamond market, which generates the bulk of government revenue and export earnings. Public anger over a 28% unemployment rate has been compounded by rising levels of crime and corruption.

“I will respectfully step down,” Masisi said during a press briefing in the capital, Gaborone, broadcast on state television. “I would like to congratulate the opposition. I respect the will of the people.

While Botswana has long been considered one of Africa’s most successful democracies, disaffection with the system has increased, according to an Afrobarometer survey released in July. Only 30% of people surveyed in the country expressed satisfaction with democracy, compared to 70% a decade ago – representing one of the steepest declines on the continent.

Similar trends have emerged elsewhere in the region, notably in neighboring South Africa, where the African National Congress in May lost the parliamentary majority it had held since the end of apartheid three decades ago. In Mozambique, the party in power for 49 years extended its mandate in an October 9 election that observers and opposition parties say were marred by irregularities.

BDP leaders were stunned by the party’s implosion, with outgoing deputy president Slumber Tsogwane saying he had no idea why his party was performing so poorly. With exceptional results in two constituencies on Friday evening, the party won only four parliamentary seats, compared to 38 five years ago, while the UDC obtained 36.

Moeti Mohwasa, Boko’s spokesperson, said the country’s outgoing leaders stood apart from the people they were supposed to serve, were unaccountable and failed to ensure equitable distribution of resources .

Boko, 54, who has already run for president twice, has pledged to create at least 400,000 jobs within five years, raise the minimum wage, fight corruption and reduce taxes. water and electricity rates. These commitments have clearly resonated with the electorate, even if they can be difficult to deliver.

Botswana is the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by value, with almost all of its gemstones mined by Debswana, which is jointly owned by the government and De Beers, a unit of Anglo American Plc. Global diamond sales have been hit by oversupply, weak demand from the crucial Chinese market and pressure from synthetic gemstones.

Masisi’s administration negotiated a new 10-year deal with De Beers last year that will give the country access to more diamonds and help it secure P10 billion ($749 million) in financing for development.

Boko criticized the way the deal was negotiated and said it had damaged the country’s relationship with De Beers, which was now considering pulling out of it. The new administration will engage with the company to understand its concerns.

“’We must protect the goose that lays the golden eggs and generate income while continuing to diversify’ the economy, he told reporters on Friday.

In a July interview, Boko said he wanted the Botswana government to increase its stake in De Beers to 51% from the current 15%, and called on the company to move its headquarters from London to Gaborone.

Anglo American paid $5.1 billion for the Oppenheimer family’s 40% stake in De Beers in 2011.

In February, Anglo American reduced the value of its 85% stake in the diamond producer from $1.6 billion to around $7 billion, and in May it put the unit up for sale after pushing back a $49 billion takeover bid for BHP Group. Ltd.

“This is, in our view, an opportunity for the government of Botswana to acquire a substantial majority stake in De Beers,” Boko said in the interview. “In a crisis, that’s normally the best time to acquire.”

–With assistance from Matthew Hill, Arijit Ghosh, Paul Richardson and Robert Jameson.

(Updates with new president sworn in in second paragraph, latest election results in seventh.)

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