Botswana voting on future of ruling party after 58 years in office

A woman and a child passes an election poster of ruling party Botswana Democratic Party president Mokgweetsi Masisi in Gaborone, Botswana (Themba Hadebe/AP)

Polls opened in an election in Botswana on Wednesday with the country set to decide if one of Africa’s longest-ruling parties stays in power for another five-year term.

The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has been in power in the southern African nation for 58 years since independence from Britain in 1966.