(Bloomberg) — Botswana’s ruling party is poised to extend its nearly six-decade rule over the diamond-rich southern African country in elections Wednesday, securing a second five-year term for the president Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Under Botswana’s constitution, the party that controls the 61 seats in Parliament has the right to choose the president and form a government.

Masisi’s Botswana Democratic Party has been in power since its independence from Britain in 1966 and currently has 38 seats in the Legislative Assembly, a majority the president says he is certain to retain. Final results are expected to be announced by November 1.

The election for the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by value comes against a backdrop of a market crisis that has taken a heavy toll on state finances, with the government dependent on the precious stones to generate revenue and foreign exchange.

Faced with a declining economy, Masisi’s administration has drawn on national reserves to fund the budget and limit spending cuts, reducing the risk of alienating voters.

“All expectations are that the BDP will win the election,” although its margin of victory may not be overwhelming, said Louw Nel, an analyst at Oxford Economics.

“Opposition parties will emphasize that the odds are against them and that the BDP-led government never hesitates to use state resources to ensure its re-election. But a divided opposition will have to accept some of the blame, because it failed to capitalize on the government’s policy mistakes and failed to articulate a compelling alternative vision for the country, he said .

Masisi, 63, trained as a teacher and worked for the United Nations Children’s Fund before entering politics. He succeeded Ian Khama as president in 2019.

Masisi touted a new 10-year deal his administration signed with De Beers last year that will give the country access to more diamonds and help it secure P10 billion ($746 million) in financing for development. He also praised his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which saw the rapid rollout of vaccines, and highlighted his development achievements, unveiling a series of infrastructure projects in recent weeks.

His main opponents are Duma Boko, leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change, Dumelang Saleshando, who leads the Botswana Congress Party, and Mephato Reatile, of the Botswana Patriotic Front, a party linked to Khama. In a televised debate last week, opposition leaders accused the ruling party of failing to diversify the economy away from diamonds and of mismanaging the country’s finances.

Both Boko and Saleshando pledged to raise the minimum wage and create jobs, commitments that resonated in a country where the unemployment rate is as high as 28 percent.

Botswana is the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by value, with almost all of its gemstones mined by Debswana, which is jointly owned by the government and De Beers. Global diamond sales have been hit by oversupply, weak demand from the crucial Chinese market and pressure from synthetic gemstones.

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