The new Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) president, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi is upbeat ahead of general elections next year.

 Mr Masisi left the party chairperson position to assume the presidency of the party in line with his new responsibilities as the new President of the country.

Addressing members of the press recently, Mr Masisi whose inauguration as President of the country was held this morning (April 1), noted that the BDP central committee under his leadership managed to achieve its set targets.

“As a central committee one of the tasks that we took was to increase the number of regions. We strengthened our regional structures and organisational capability to get ourselves ready for the political battles ahead,” he said.

To achieve this, he noted, between 2015 and 2017 the BDP embarked on a major member recruitment drive through convincing members of political party opponents to join them, which he noted had yielded impressive results.

Also, he said, the BDP had to phase out the notion that the party was for the ‘old and tired people’ and therefore unattractive to  youth.

“It was very important for the BDP to reconsider the trajectory that the BDP was for old people, that it is old fashioned, that it’s been in power for too long, and these things we turned around to show that the BDP is a trendy party,” he stated.

On media issues, the BDP president assured members of the press of the governing party’s support for freedom of the press.

"We want to assure you that we will give you the space, emotional, political and otherwise to operate. We are a party that is committed to the attributes of press freedom. It’s a major component of our democratic dispensation. That defines us as a party,” he stated. ENDS