UDC hints at recruiting Maj. Gen. Mokgware for Gabane
Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) President Advocate Duma Boko has expressed optimism that very soon his party will be able to have a Parliamentary candidate for Gabane-Mankgodi.Gabane-Mankgodi has been allocated to Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) as a contracting partner. BMD has failed to secure a candidate for the constituency.
Primary elections in the area for a parliamentary seat had to be postponed as no one from the BMD had expressed interest for the constituency. Addressing the media recently regarding the constituency, Advocate Boko said in no distant time there will be a candidate who will represent them in the 2019 general election.
“We have Major General Pius Mokgware who is a sitting Member of Parliament. Majority of councillors are from UDC. We have our friends out there whom we have nothing but love for them. Currently we do not have a candidate that we can announce, we do not want to rush things,” said the UDC leader. There has been talk that UDC is trying to recruit Mokgware back to its fold.
Mokgware is also Alliance for Progressives (AP) Chairman and Parliamentary candidate for AP in the constituency. Mokgware in July this year revealed that he would be working with UDC councillors in the coming 2019 general election to retain Gabane-Mankgodi Constituency.Maj. Gen. Mokgware stated that the UDC councillors are very hard working and that he was prepared to work with them and encouraged electorates to vote for them in next year’s polls. Gabane-Mankgodi has ten (10) Wards.
AP has one (1), Gabane South West while UDC has five wards. Contracting partners Botswana National Front (BNF) has three (3) - Tsolamosese, Gabane North West and Gabane South East; Botswana Congress Party has one (1) - Gabane North East and BMD has one (1) – Diagane, commonly known as Mogoditshane Block 9. Botswana Democratic Party has four, being Mankgodi South and North, Metsimotlhabe and Lesirane.
Maj. Gen Mokgware told a press conference at his office in Gabane village at that time that he had a good relationship with the UDC councillors and he was prepared to join forces with them next year. He said the intention is to ensure that the BDP does not win the constituency. According to Mokgware, as it has been his party’s stance, he also believes in opposition unity.
“I am confident that we would be working together in 2019. We believe in opposition unity as AP. Even though there is a party position, as an individual my position is that having worked with these councillors and the relationship having been healthy we would have to work together for 2019.
“We need each other and I would not see anything wrong in endorsing them. We would definitely work with other like-minded opposition parties. Even though I cannot tell you what type of model we would use, I am confident that we would be together,” he stated at the time.