the Asian population. There were also ten indirectly elected African members, who were chosen by the African Council, as well as ten colonial officials and some co-opted members. The African Council was partly elected, with elected members sitting alongside the leaders of the eight chiefdoms. Republic of Botswana The first elections held under universal suffrage took place in 1965, prior to independence 18 months later. The Bechuanaland Democratic Party (renamed the Botswana Democratic Party following independence) won a landslide victory, taking 28 of the 31 seats. Following independence, the BDP went on to claim landslide victories in 1969, 1974, 1979 and 1984, winning at least three-quarters of the seats in every election. A referendum on electoral reform was held in 1987, but it only involved the creation of the post of Supervisor of Elections, and the first-past-the-post system that allowed the BDP to dominate the National Assembly remained in place. After another landslide victory in 1989, the 1994 elections saw the best performance by an opposition party, as the Botswana National Front (BNF) won 13 of the 40 elected seats, although the BDP still held two-thirds of the seats. A second electoral reform referendum was held in 1997 following violent protests in 1995. The reforms included the creation of an Independent Electoral Commission, allowing Batswana living abroad to vote, and lowering the vote age from 21 to 18, with all three approved by voters. The 1999 elections saw the BDP win 33 of the 40 elected seats, following a split in the BNF in 1998. It went on to win 44 of the 57 elected seats in 2004, 45 seats in 2009 and 37 seats in 2014. Electoral system National Assembly The 65 members of the National Assembly include 57 members elected for five-year terms in single member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting, four members elected by the National Assembly from a list provided by the President, and two ex officio members; the President and the Attorney General. Since independence, the size of the National Assembly has gradually been increased; with the number of elected members increasing from 31 to 32 in 1974, 34 in 1984, 40 in 1994 and 57 in 2004. The presence of indirectly elected members began in 1974. Voters must be Batswana citizens aged 18 or over, have continuously resided in the country for at least 12 months prior to voter registration. Reasons for disqualification include being