As confidence in elections and political institutions declines across much of the world, Botswana is putting an old civic tradition at the center of a modern democratic debate.
The country’s kgotla – a community assembly where residents gather to discuss public issues, hear competing views and seek consensus – is being presented as a possible response to democratic backsliding. The message from Botswana is ambitious: Africa’s indigenous systems of governance may contain lessons that democracies elsewhere urgently need.
The 2026 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy opened in Gaborone on Oct. 7, bringing together hundreds of policymakers, civil society leaders, researchers and democracy practitioners from around the world. Hosted by the University of Botswana through Oct. 10, the forum is being held in Southern Africa for the first time under the theme “Indigenous. Resilient. Empowering.”
The gathering comes as governments confront declining public trust, deepening political polarization, shrinking civic space and growing concerns about the quality of elections. Botswana’s decision to place indigenous governance at the center of the discussion gives the forum importance beyond its academic program.
At the heart of the debate is the kgotla. Traditionally, the institution has served as a village meeting place where community members raise concerns, debate proposals and participate in decisions that affect their lives. Leaders are expected to listen, explain their positions and respond to the public.
That direct exchange is the kgotla’s central strength. It gives citizens a voice beyond the ballot box and creates a visible relationship between ordinary people and those responsible for governing them.
In villages such as Mosi, in southern Botswana, the kgotla remains a functioning community institution. Residents use it to discuss local concerns and take part in deliberations about matters that affect their daily lives. The tradition has survived colonial rule and independence, continuing alongside the country’s elected political institutions.
That coexistence makes Botswana an especially compelling subject for democracy researchers. The country has maintained competitive elections and peaceful transfers of power while preserving traditional institutions that offer another channel for public participation.
The forum will examine whether the kgotla represents more than cultural symbolism. Its discussions are expected to address constitutional reform, youth participation, democratic resilience, community assemblies and the links between democracy, natural-resource governance and climate change.
For Botswana, the opportunity is considerable. The country has long been regarded internationally as one of Africa’s more stable democracies. The forum gives it a chance to contribute more than a record of political continuity. It can offer ideas to a global search for institutions that are more responsive, participatory and trusted.
The timing is important. In established democracies and newer political systems alike, elections are increasingly viewed as insufficient on their own. Citizens may vote every few years yet remain disconnected from decision-making between elections. When that happens, representative government can begin to feel distant and unaccountable.
The kgotla may help address that gap. Its emphasis on dialogue, collective deliberation and public accountability offers a model in which participation is not limited to election day. It also suggests that democratic legitimacy can be strengthened through regular, face-to-face engagement between communities and their leaders.
Still, Botswana should avoid presenting the kgotla as a flawless alternative to representative democracy. Traditional institutions have operated within social structures that have not always guaranteed equal participation. Questions about the roles of women, young people and minority groups must be taken seriously, especially when the institution is assessed by contemporary democratic standards.
The challenge, then, is not to romanticize the kgotla but to understand what can be adapted from it. Its principles of consultation and public discussion could complement modern democratic institutions, provided they are expanded to include all members of society and connected to clear systems of accountability.
That may prove to be one of the most important questions to emerge from the Gaborone forum. Rather than portraying the kgotla as a replacement for representative government, Botswana can show how an indigenous institution might strengthen it by creating additional avenues for participation, consensus-building and oversight.
The forum also challenges a familiar assumption: that democratic ideas must move primarily from Western political systems to Africa. By bringing indigenous knowledge into conversation with contemporary democratic theory, Botswana is asking whether Africa can be a source of democratic innovation rather than merely a testing ground for imported models.
The stakes are high. If Botswana can demonstrate that traditional community participation can reinforce modern political institutions, it may leave the four-day forum with more than international attention. It may offer a distinctive democratic model – one rooted in local history but relevant far beyond the country’s borders.
