Constitution of Botswana

The Constitution of Botswana took effect on 30 September 1966, the day the country achieved full independence. It establishes a republic with a unicameral National Assembly, an executive headed by a president who is elected by the Assembly's members rather than by direct popular vote and who serves as both head of state and commander of the armed forces, and a judiciary anchored by the High Court, modeled on the Westminster parliamentary system. It also preserves a traditional advisory body, the Ntlo ya Dikgosi or House of Chiefs, alongside the modern institutions. The document runs to nine chapters and has been amended sixteen times, most recently in 2021.