President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a message of congratulations to President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana following his party's majority win in elections held this week, reports State House.
In a statement, President Kenyatta termed the win as a vote of confidence by the people of Botswana in the leadership of President Masisi
Kenya and Botswana have been enjoying close relationship, with many Kenyan teachers working in the South African nation in several disciplines.
In July, Masisi visited Kenya for two days where the two countries agreed to support existing areas of collaboration with trade being one of the priorities.
The ruling BDP had garnered 29 parliamentary seats representing 51 per cent of votes. This means that Masisi will now have a mandate to form new government.
The main opposition, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), secured 13 seats while the Botswana Patriotic Front won three and the Alliance for Progressive only one, with 73 percent of the voting districts counted so far.
The BDP will now have to move swiftly to transform the economy. Since independence from Britain in 1966, the Botswana economy has grown at 8 percent a year to become one of Africa's most successful, but it is now at risk of coming unstuck because of over-reliance on a single commodity - diamonds.
"Although vote counting is still ongoing, the numbers of parliament seats attained so far by the BDP obliges me to declare Mokgweetsi Masisi as the elected president of Botswana," said Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane.
Masisi, 58, had been presented with a surprising challenge after former President Ian Khama broke away and announced his support for the opposition coalition UDC.
Khama stormed out of the BDP in May after accusing Masisi - his deputy until last year - of autocracy.