Opposition parties again blame each other for loss
Opposition parties are once again blaming each other for the loss of Grootlaagte ward by-election in the Gantsi North constituency to the Botswana Democratic Party. On the backdrop of the past weekend's by elections in Gaborone's Bosele ward and in Gantsi, activists have used various platforms such as social media, radio call-in programmes and press releases to insinuate lack of cooperation on one another.
Voters too, continue to debate the pros and cons of opposition unity in the country following the by-elections, which also saw Umbrella for Democratic Change winning the Bosele ward in the Bonnington North constituency.
When asked why her party lost the Bosele by-election, the publicity secretary of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Dr Mpho Pheko blamed it on late start in campaigning.
“We started campaigning rather late due to our ongoing negotiations with the Alliance for Progressives (AP) and the Botswana Labour Party (BLP). The activity took a lot of our time.
“At the end we could not agree on who should represent the three parties in the ward. As a result, both the BCP and BLP fielded their respective candidates which thing was unfortunate as it went against our cooperation objective,” the BCP spokesperson said.
She also admitted that the BCP-AP-BLP coalition remains in a stalemate regarding the fielding of candidates.
She is however confident that the BCP-AP-BLP talks will soon be completed so that there are clear guidelines on how the three parties allocate their candidates ahead of a poll.
Dr Pheko also blamed the 'UDC propaganda' on their loss. There was a lot of propaganda being bandied about by the UDC to the effect that the BCP was still with the UDC.
“For all intents and purposes, the BCP is no longer part of the UDC. This is despite the fact that it was a founding member of the UDC in 2012."
According to Dr Pheko, the UDC has sidelined her party by not inviting it to UDC meetings for some time now. Dr Pheko added that, “The BCP stopped attending the UDC National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings when the coalition stopped inviting us to its meetings specifically the NEC meetings.”
Indications are that barring a miracle, the fallout between the BCP on the one hand and the Botswana National Front (BNF) and Botswana Peoples’ Party (BPP) on the other, will not see the BCP, BNF and BPP belonging to the same coalition in 2024.
Meanwhile, the BNF-BPP alliance (UDC) has recently been joined by the faction-ridden Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF).
For its part, the BCP has entered into a cooperation with the AP and the newly-formed BLP. It should be noted the BCP participated in a coalition project for the first time when it contested the 2019 general election under the UDC.
If the ongoing escalation of hostilities in the UDC is anything to go by, the BCP will go to the 2024 general elections under a new coalition.
Meanwhile, the publicity secretary of the BDP, Kagelelo Kentse is grateful to those who voted for his party at Bosele despite the fact that the party lost the ward.
The contest for Bosele attracted five contenders. Mpule Maplanka won the ward with 346 votes with his closest rival, Isaac Moseki getting 310 votes.
Kgomotso Kaelo of the BCP and Olebile Sesupo of the BLP got third and fourth positions with 228 and 13 votes in that order. The fifth and last position went to Molomo Montsho, an independent candidate with eight votes.
“We are not bitter as we are aware of some practices by opposition parties at by-elections which we intend to address going forward,” Kentse said without elaborating.
The BDP spokesperson expressed disappointment with the UDC, who after losing Grootlaagte denigrated the winner calling him a Mosarwa as if a Mosarwa should not win elections.
“As the BDP, we do not view people along tribal lines. We see everybody as a Motswana. In fact, we do not know his tribal affiliation because tribal identities are irrelevant,” Kentse stated.
He told this publication that his party is doing everything it can to retain the Mapoka-Nlapkhwane by-election.
“We respect the voters hence do not create conspiracy stories when we lose like the opposition does,” he said.