BCP's July conference a make or break affair

 

The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) might be headed for trouble ahead of its annual delegates conference at Tutume McConnell Secondary School in Tutume village from Saturday July 15 to July 17.

One of the weightiest items in the BCP conference agenda, is whether despite the fallout between the BCP and the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) last year, there is room for reconciliation.

Following serious differences within the Duma Boko-led UDC over issues of democracy and governance by the BCP, the BCP and the UDC practically stopped working together.

The BCP was a significant partner in the coalition having won the highest number of council and Parliament seats in the 2019 general election, beating orher coalition partners, the Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) and Botswana National Front (BNF).

Instead, the former coalition partners traded accusations and counter-accusations in an attempt to gain support from the voter at the expense of the other.

While the UDC accused the BCP of being overly partisan and power hungry, the BCP accused Boko of running a one-man show in which there is zero consultation when major decisions are made.

The BCP has unsuccessfully called for internal democracy where internal elections for positions in the coalition are conducted at regular intervals.

However, much to the annoyance of the BCP, Boko has publicly said the BNF is the ‘natural leader’ of the coalition. Sooner than later, members' differences escalated into open quarrels through radio stations and social media.

The suspensions of the BCP president and secretary general, Dumelang Saleshando and Goretetse Kekgonegile respectively, annoyed the BCP members.

Although the general party membership called upon their party to leave the UDC with immediate effect, the leadership thought this an unwise decision.

Neither one of the parties made a move, the BCP did not resign nor did the UDC expel the BCP from the UDC. A stalemate ensued and the two political entities stopped working together altogether.

The BCP and the UDC have since recruited new partners into their sphere of influence. Matters came to a head when the two rivals faced-off in the subsequent by-election contests where vicious vitriol has been the order of the day.

Matters even escalated recently when Boko dangled a carrot before the BCP sitting councilors, offering them protection from primary elections should they defect to the UDC.

In the event, 19 BCP councillors have defected to the UDC. Not to be outdone in the game of tit for tat, BCP councillors in the North West District Council, recently colluded with the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and successfully ousted a UDC council Chairman and replaced him with a BDP candidate while a BCP councillor became deputy chair.

A second attempt by BCP councillors in the Tutume District Council to work with the BDP councillors to embarrass a UDC council leader in similar fashion, was reportedly thwarted by the BCP secretary general, Kekgonegile who felt that despite the differences in the opposition, it was anathema for an opposition party to collude with the ruling party at the expense of another opposition party.

There are fears among the BCP that the party congress pencilled for July 15, may degenerate into chaos on account of the fact that a significant, albeit not majority of the party members, are adamant that going at it alone in the 2024 general elections is not an option. Meanwhile, the other faction is clamouring for a complete break away from the UDC.

Unlike those who think the upcoming BCP conference is a make or break affair for the party, on account of deep divisions of opinion on whether to go at it alone as a party or work with the UDC, BCP secretary general, Goretetse Kekgonegile, sees things differently.

“I agree that it’s a crucial gathering but only on account of the fact that we are going to discuss our election plans since the national elections are next year.

“We have been with the issue of whether we should leave the UDC or not and are done with it. We are marshalling our people for the elections. To us, the UDC will not feature much. We will probably discuss it for only 10 or so minutes.

“Critical to us are issues that pertain to the general elections next year such as primary elections, candidates, election manifestos and election strategies,” Kekgonegile said.

He believes that the majority of BCP members will vote for an official withdrawal of the BCP from the UDC.