BDP leadership admits fault in Bulela Ditswe mess

 

Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) leadership has admitted failing democrats in the party’s Bulela Ditswe. The party is currently attending to complaints from candidates for the two batches of primaries held last month.

BDP Secretary General, Kavis Kario has revealed that they admit as the leadership that the running of the primaries did not go according to plan and desire. Many complainants have stated in their appeals that on the day of the elections there were many irregularities which influenced the outcome of the election results.

The contentions are that the appeal is directed at the Central Committee not out of disrespect but solemnly because appellants hold the view that the Branches and Regional Committees are equally a party of interest, especially since some of its members are conflicted. They argued that the branch and regional committees were in charge of both the 20th and 27th July 2024 primary elections, not the returning officers.

Giving an update on the appeals following the party’s central committee meeting last week, Kario stated that it is evident that the 20th July 2024 elections did not go according to plan in most constituencies.

He said the elections started late, forcing voting to continue late into the night. He indicated that this is according to the reports the central committee received from its various sub-committees.

“Generally, this is the processes and procedures of us democrats. Where we fell-short, we fell-short, it is our mistake as the party leadership. Where we did not do well it is the mistake of those we deployed.

“It is the fault of us democrats if anything doesn’t go well because we were not united in dealing with our elections. Our 14 regions have received appeals from various appellants,” Kario said.

The Secretary General called on the regional committees to promptly attend to the appeals and as soon as possible forward their recommendations to the central committee for final determination.

“There are those who appealed to the central committee directly. You only appeal to the central committee when you strongly believe that the regional committee is conflicted. One has to put forward solid reason of the alleged conflict of interest for their appeals to be entertained by the central committee.

“Once we are done with recommendations from the regional committees, then we will deal with appeals directly lodged with the central committee,” Kario said.

He stated that by the end of this week the central committee will have concluded with the appeals and share its decision. Kario called for calm and unity as the final process unfolds.

“Let us work together and accept the outcomes of the process. Let us show love for our party and if you have lost there is always next time and democrats will give you the opportunity in the next elections,” Kario advised.