- I am not going anywhere
The opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is said to be courting one of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) potential candidate for Sefhare-Ramokgonami (Tswapong South) Constituency.
Deric Ramaano is expected to go head-to-head with former area Member of Parliament and Minister, Dorcas Makgato. The duo is said to have expressed interest to contest for the Parliamentary seat during the BDP’s Bulela-Ditswe.
The UDC in the constituency through Botswana National Front (BNF) is said to have sent a delegation to Ramaano to dump the BDP so that he would contest under the UDC ticket come 2024 general election.
Sources within the BDP in the constituency have revealed that it has been some weeks with the delegation meeting up with Ramaano at his residence in Ramokgonami where they were trying to convince him to ditch the BDP and get a free pass in the UDC.
It is alleged that the move came about after the UDC caught wind of news that there are plans to sabotage Ramaano and vet him out. While vetting candidates is expected to be done by the party’s central committee, information reaching this publication is that some members of the party within the branch committee want the central committee to be persuaded to vet Ramaano out.
If this sees the light of day, it then means Makgato, the former Botswana’s Ambassador to Australia will sail through without a challenge. The BDP’s two-horse race comes after University Academic Dr Leonard Sesa and former Branch chairman Kitso Seloma pulled out of the race due to other commitments.
While the contest between Makgato and Ramaano is expected to be fierce, sources have revealed that Makgato might be disadvantaged by the fact that she has been out of the country, while Ramaano got the opportunity to lure for votes in the constituency.
The constituency which has been one of the BDP’s stronghold was snatched by the UDC in 2019 with Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang. Whoever wins the BDP primaries might have an uphill battle to wrestle the constituency from the opposition. Dr Gobotswang will be representing the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) which has since pulled out of the UDC to go solo in the 2024 general elections.
While the BNF is courting Ramaano because of the strides he made in the constituency, there are claims that one of the partners in the UDC, Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), is eyeing the constituency. This is one of the constituencies where BPF Patron and former President Ian Khama commands a large following.
During the 2019 general election, Khama is believed to have helped sway the voters to vote out the BDP and replace it with the UDC. Khama decampaigned Makgato in the constituency after she attacked his family during one of the public rallies.
According to sources some of the BDP members then took a decision to vote for Dr Gobotswang including some of the council candidates who were alleged to have fallen out with Makgato.
If the UDC negotiating team allocates the constituency to the BPF, this will mean the end of the road for Ramaano if he joins the BNF, as the BPF is eager to field one of its National Executive Committee member, Shadrack Baaitse as their Parliamentary candidate.
BNF contested the constituency under the UDC banner in 2014. The BNF had a strong presence in the constituency in the past.
Contacted for comment, Ramaano confirmed that he has been approached by some members of the BNF with the aim of requesting him to join the party and become their Parliamentary candidate.
“Even though we have met on several occasions, I will not be joining any political party. BDP has been my home and will remain so. I was just being courteous to give them a chance to state their case.
“These are the people I know from our constituency, a few I know personally because we live in this area together and discuss a lot of issues affecting our people here outside politics. But I am not going anywhere.
“Remember I have already expressed my interest to be a prospective candidate for our primaries. That is as far as I can go in terms of discussing our internal process of Bulela-Ditswe,” Ramaano said.
Botswana Guardian has learned that on Wednesday this week Ramaano had a meeting with his team where he was questioned on the allegations regarding his recruitment by opposition.
“Yes, it is true we had a meeting where I expressly shared everything. They just wanted me to clear a few things which I did and our meeting ended with us all on the same page. It is a normal thing that when you share the same vision with fellow colleagues when something is said, you sit down and iron out whatever issues are there. That is the consultation that we are talking about in the BDP,” he stated.
Deric Ramaano is expected to go head-to-head with former area Member of Parliament and Minister, Dorcas Makgato. The duo is said to have expressed interest to contest for the Parliamentary seat during the BDP’s Bulela-Ditswe.
The UDC in the constituency through Botswana National Front (BNF) is said to have sent a delegation to Ramaano to dump the BDP so that he would contest under the UDC ticket come 2024 general election.
Sources within the BDP in the constituency have revealed that it has been some weeks with the delegation meeting up with Ramaano at his residence in Ramokgonami where they were trying to convince him to ditch the BDP and get a free pass in the UDC.
It is alleged that the move came about after the UDC caught wind of news that there are plans to sabotage Ramaano and vet him out. While vetting candidates is expected to be done by the party’s central committee, information reaching this publication is that some members of the party within the branch committee want the central committee to be persuaded to vet Ramaano out.
If this sees the light of day, it then means Makgato, the former Botswana’s Ambassador to Australia will sail through without a challenge. The BDP’s two-horse race comes after University Academic Dr Leonard Sesa and former Branch chairman Kitso Seloma pulled out of the race due to other commitments.
While the contest between Makgato and Ramaano is expected to be fierce, sources have revealed that Makgato might be disadvantaged by the fact that she has been out of the country, while Ramaano got the opportunity to lure for votes in the constituency.
The constituency which has been one of the BDP’s stronghold was snatched by the UDC in 2019 with Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang. Whoever wins the BDP primaries might have an uphill battle to wrestle the constituency from the opposition. Dr Gobotswang will be representing the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) which has since pulled out of the UDC to go solo in the 2024 general elections.
While the BNF is courting Ramaano because of the strides he made in the constituency, there are claims that one of the partners in the UDC, Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), is eyeing the constituency. This is one of the constituencies where BPF Patron and former President Ian Khama commands a large following.
During the 2019 general election, Khama is believed to have helped sway the voters to vote out the BDP and replace it with the UDC. Khama decampaigned Makgato in the constituency after she attacked his family during one of the public rallies.
According to sources some of the BDP members then took a decision to vote for Dr Gobotswang including some of the council candidates who were alleged to have fallen out with Makgato.
If the UDC negotiating team allocates the constituency to the BPF, this will mean the end of the road for Ramaano if he joins the BNF, as the BPF is eager to field one of its National Executive Committee member, Shadrack Baaitse as their Parliamentary candidate.
BNF contested the constituency under the UDC banner in 2014. The BNF had a strong presence in the constituency in the past.
Contacted for comment, Ramaano confirmed that he has been approached by some members of the BNF with the aim of requesting him to join the party and become their Parliamentary candidate.
“Even though we have met on several occasions, I will not be joining any political party. BDP has been my home and will remain so. I was just being courteous to give them a chance to state their case.
“These are the people I know from our constituency, a few I know personally because we live in this area together and discuss a lot of issues affecting our people here outside politics. But I am not going anywhere.
“Remember I have already expressed my interest to be a prospective candidate for our primaries. That is as far as I can go in terms of discussing our internal process of Bulela-Ditswe,” Ramaano said.
Botswana Guardian has learned that on Wednesday this week Ramaano had a meeting with his team where he was questioned on the allegations regarding his recruitment by opposition.
“Yes, it is true we had a meeting where I expressly shared everything. They just wanted me to clear a few things which I did and our meeting ended with us all on the same page. It is a normal thing that when you share the same vision with fellow colleagues when something is said, you sit down and iron out whatever issues are there. That is the consultation that we are talking about in the BDP,” he stated.
