British colonial rule began to wane, Seretse Khama met with the African members of the council in 1962 to form the Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP). Then, soon after this event, a group composed of chiefs, white residents, and members of Botswana’s newly established political parties convened to draft the future Constitution of Botswana. In this Constitution were the outlines for the National Assembly. Then, in March of 1965, the first elections occurred with three political parties taking part in the campaign. The BDP won 81 percent of vote and 28 out of 31 available seats in the assembly. It was soon after these elections that the country officially secured independence in 1966. Post-Independence and the dominance of the BDP Though many African countries experienced decades of single-party rule until the 1990’s, Botswana has had 5 peaceful presidential transitions and consistent multi-party democracy since independence. The Botswana Democratic Party - formerly Bechuanaland Democratic Party - has always won a majority of seats in the National Assembly and is an ongoing symbol of the national liberation movement. Meanwhile, unlike the BDP, the opposition parties in the National Assembly have routinely changed since independence. During the 1990’s, urbanization and the sudden prominence of the mining sector weakened the BDP’s agriculturally centered political base. Because of this perceived fragility, some of the opposition parties were able to merge into the Botswana National Front (BNF) and almost created a unified opposition party to counter the BDP. In the late 1990’s, however, the BNF fractured and did not come close to rivaling the BDP again. Yet, despite the inconsistency of the opposition, BDP’s dominance has routinely created concern among members of opposition parties about whether the National Assembly can act as a proper check against the President. In particular, many see a problem with lack of separation between the National Assembly and the executive in the formation of Parliament. In addition to this concern, political science scholars such as David Sebudubudu note that the President holds direct influence over MPs because 42% of the National Assembly is also in the President’s Cabinet. In a critique of the National Assembly, Sebudubudu and his colleagues explain that loyalty and personal ambitions may impede the ability for BDP party members to be free-acting in the assembly. Stemming from this general concern, in 1988 the National Assembly passed a motion urging the separation of Parliament, and thus the National Assembly,