"The focus of this study was political parties in Botswana, looking at their history, structure and functioning, internal democracy (primaries and nomination), leadership and succession, and gender representation. The study is informed by the understanding that building strong and sustainable democracies depends on the existence of strong and effective political parties. Political parties play a crucial role in bringing together diverse interests, and providing alternative policy proposals from which voters can make an informed choice at the time of elections. The parties studied are the four top parties in the country, namely, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), the Botswana National Front (BNF), the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the Botswana People’s Party (BPP). The first three are represented in parliament. The BNF is the official opposition,with 12 members of parliament, while the BCP has only one seat. The study looked at the broader environment within which parties operate. It also examined the structures of parties, and how they function on the ground, and established that there is an interesting gap between the formal structures as they exist in the party’s constitution and ground-level reality."