The dead cannot hear - Balopi
Many have written and read Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)’s political obituary after its devastating performance during the 2024 general election.
However, Party President, Mpho Balopi, is adamant that the party he leads is alive and well.
“Look, if you are dead, you cannot see, hear, and feel. BDP is alive with possibilities, and so we can see and hear those who wish us dead,” Balopi says.
The new BDP President says he considers the party’s first-ever general election loss as a slip and fall, which cannot be likened to “political death.”
Balopi asserts, “BDP had won 12 general elections for almost six decades. The opposition of that time stayed alive throughout that period.
Now, some people want the nation to believe that, as an opposition party, one general election loss is a death sentence for BDP.”
Indeed, the once mighty BDP was a political force that won all the democratic elections since 1965. In that same period, opposition parties such as the Botswana People's Party and Botswana National Front dusted themselves after every loss.
Balopi explains in an interview with the Botswana Guardian that the BDP stands an even better chance than the former opposition parties did, because it garnered 30.4 percent of the popular vote compared to UDC’s 37 percent.
'Time will tell whether BDP will live up to its known and acclaimed strength,' he said.
BDP so close, yet so far? “The doomsayers are looking at the four parliamentary seats and ignoring that the margin between us and the UDC is only about seven percent. Tell me any other party that has a national footprint like we do,” Balopi asks confidently.
Records, seen by this publication, demonstrate that indeed BDP is the only party that was represented in every ward and in every constituency in 2024.
Furthermore, BDP was the second-best performing party in almost all, if not all, constituencies. These, Balopi says, are signs of a party whose pulse is healthy. He considers his party to be UDC’s biggest national threat ahead of the 2029 general election.
A cause for the good of all
Balopi himself did not stand for elections in the 2024 general election. He prioritised peace and stability by giving the immediate past leadership a chance to lead with those whom they preferred.
He says there have been many lessons and that the experience has reinforced the party’s resolve to become a better political institution. He argues that, in his determination, selfless service and sacrifice, something that he has personally set an example of, will help the party on its way back up.
“During my campaign for party presidency, I travelled all around the country and met party members. The enthusiasm and zeal for a return to electoral victory are contagious. Watch the space,” he says.
“We are not just another liberation party”
Some observers, however, cautioned BDP that former liberation or independence parties in Africa have never found a way back to power or even a way to stay alive, citing parties like UNIP (Zambia), KANU (Kenya), and PDCI (Côte d’Ivoire) as examples.
Balopi is quick to quash the comparison by saying that his party’s loss has offered an opportunity to remodel the party in ways such as party constitutional review, devolving presidential power, increasing internal dialogue platforms, creating forums for veterans, holding the new ruling party accountable for all its actions, amongst others, which will foster collective control by the membership and not the leaders alone.
“When the members know and feel that they own the party, something which we are advancing towards, they will sustain it for the next generation,” he says.
“BDP good for Botswana’s democracy”
“Anyone who wishes BDP a political death is short-sighted. A strong BDP is good for this country’s democracy as we have the numbers to threaten UDC rule or misrule and keep them in check for the good of all Batswana,” he proclaims.
Instead of indulging in the improbable demise of the BDP, Balopi encourages critics to redirect their energy towards constructive action, such as expanding opportunities for Batswana, enhancing healthcare and education, and ensuring government accountability in paying suppliers, among other pressing national challenges
“We have done our part. We have succeeded and fallen short where we did during our time as a ruling party. The ball is now in the UDC court. If they drop it, Batswana will be watching and we will be on the sidelines ready to pick up.”
BDP was Africa’s longest ruling independence party. Will it be one of the first to defy the permanent fall of liberation and independence parties that lose power by returning to power?
Balopi, who was ushered in as BDP President in Maun this year, believes so.