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The UDC was founded in November 2012 by members from various opposition parties, including the BPP and BMD.They rallied together in the run-up to the 2014 elections by the Botswana National Front (BNF), the Botswana Movement for Democracy and the Botswana People's Party with the aim of uniting the opposition in the 2014 elections.
The party also postulates increasing old-age pensions and reducing the age threshold for the pension from 65 to 60 years. It also pledges to promote self-sufficiency of the Botswana's agriculture and food industry. [8] Its voter base are primarily the Ngwato regions, where the party appeals to the Ngwato tribal and localist sentiments.
In August 2022, the BPF joined the UDC alliance, uniting all opposition parties in the National Assembly except for the AP. [16] The Botswana Congress Party (BCP), a major member of the UDC since 2017, had expressed interest in leaving the UDC alliance due to disagreements between BCP leader, Dumelang Saleshando and UDC leader, Duma Boko. [17]
Botswana was a dominant-party state with the Botswana Democratic Party in power for most of its history. [1] Opposition parties were widely considered to have little chance of gaining a parliamentary majority until the 2024 Botswana general election which saw the Umbrella for Democratic Change win a parliamentary majority.
In 2012, the BMD collaborated with the Botswana National Front (BNF) and the Botswana People's Party (BPP) to establish the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). Just before the 2014 elections, President Motswaledi lost his life in a car accident, and he was succeeded by Ndaba Gaolathe, who was then the BMD's policy director.
The UDC's best result was in Molepolole North, with 59.16% of the vote, the highest for any opposition candidate that day. However, the UDC was hindered by vote splitting with the BCP, and its popular vote performance was below that of the BNF in the 1994 elections, the last election before the BCP split from the BNF.
Duma Gideon Boko (born 31 December 1969) is a Motswana politician and lawyer who is currently serving as the sixth President of Botswana since 1 November 2024 and as leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change since 2012.
However, in the 2019 election, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) won the seat, marking the first time an opposition party had secured victory in the seat and its predecessors, Tonota South and Tonota North. This win aligned with the broader success the UDC achieved in the northern parts of Botswana during the 2019 election.