Political parties gear up for Serowe West Constituency
A fist fight is expected come 8th July, 2023 when three political parties and one independent candidate square up for the by-election of the vacant Serowe West constituency parliamentary seat.
Currently, different political parties are all over the constituency courting support for their candidates in a constituency that is still left behind in many respects. The constituents are crying foul that despite their proximity to Serowe the headquarters of Central District, their constituency is still neglected.
It is one of the most diverse, with neo-urban village character to Remote Area Dwellers (RAD) areas. It has wards such as Palama-o-Kuwe, Kgosing, Serokolwane, Malatswae, Mmashoro and Dimajwe.
The constituency fell vacant after the area legislator, Tshekedi Khama was disqualified for having failed to attend three consecutive National Assembly meetings.
Three political parties - Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) which enjoys the support of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), Botswana Congress Party (BCP) - and independent candidate, will contest in a fortnight’s time.
In its bid to reclaim the constituency, BDP has settled for a compromise candidate in businessman Moemedi Dijeng - who lost the 2019 general election to Tshekedi Khama with a close margin. Not only is the BDP fielding Dijeng, it has decided once again to have Keletso Rakhudu as his campaign manager.
Rakhudu is a former teacher, businessman, farmer-cum-politician. He understands the terrain and has settled well in his home area. Upon relocation to Serowe, he immediately went into development activities.
He was invited into the resurrection and running of the Serowe Agricultural Show and Exhibition, to which he was voted Chairman by consensus. The show has proved to be extremely popular and has had some of the most profound 'spin-off' effects, benefiting the hospitality, transport, trade and informal sector, not to mention 'Show Tourism'.
BCP also did not conduct primary elections, but their constituents picked the name of former Botswana National Front (BNF) activist- Sibusiso Ngwenya - a man whose community participation is second to none in the area.
Ngwenya who holds a National Craft Certificate in Construction describes himself as an advocate for constituency residents and a professional who likes sharing ideas in a seminar set up. He is also a former VDC chairperson and a
member of Sports Volunteer Movement.
The BPF went through the primary elections contested by seven candidates with former councillor, Onalepelo Kedikilwe coming out victorious.
Although he is not as famous like Tshekedi, the man that he envies to replace, Kedikilwe is not a lightweight. He is a veteran politician who commands a lot of respects among Serowe West constituents. Besides, he has an ace up his sleeve - in the UDC support.
The by-elections come at a time when the political landscapes and dynamics have completely changed. Firstly, the royal Khama family will not be physically participating, although Central District is their strong territory, there is likelihood that their subjects may this time disobey their instructions.
Besides, BPF a party formed by the Khama family is divided into factions. Currently its founder, and former President Dr Ian Khama is not in good books with the BPF President Biggie Butale.
Further, opposition parties are not as united as they are supposed to be as evidenced by the fact that UDC, which came third best during the 2019 general elections, is rallying behind the BPF, while BCP is fielding its own candidate.