UDC will not allow election rigging in 2024

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) will not allow the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to rig the elections "like they did in the 2019 general elections," when they won by a huge margin.The warning was issued by the president of the Botswana Peoples’ Party (BPP) Motlatsi Molapisi at a rally in the Francistown east constituency over the weekend.The rally, which was organised by the BPP, was attended and addressed by cadres from the BPP, the Alliance for Progressives (AP), Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) and Botswana National Front (BNF), which parties constitute the UDC.“The BDP is a bunch of vote thieves. They even cheat each other during primary elections without shame. Rest assured that after what happened in the 2024 general elections, the UDC will not be complacent and allow the BDP to cheat us as they did in the last elections. The BDP cheated in broad daylight,” Molapisi said.He accused the Judges and Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of being paper tigers because, as he says, they have been captured by the executive.The UDC recently unveiled its security organ, Madibelatlhopho to protect the elections. “Africans are peace-lovers but are sometimes provoked by their own leaders to take the violent path such as when their leaders cheat at the polls,” Molapisi observed.The UDC chairman expressed disappointment with President Mokgweetsi Masisi for endorsing the newly-elected President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the recent polls in neighbouring Zimbabwe.“We need to recognise that we are in trouble due to election rigging by the incumbent governments in Africa. With our own election just about the corner, please remember that the future of this country is in your hands.“We call upon you to register in large numbers to remove the BDP from power regardless of who their candidate is,” the BPP leader said, appealing to the electorate to refuse to accept poverty, underpayment, corruption and other social ills as something normal.Molapisi called for an amendment of the national Constitution to facilitate direct election of the Head of State.BPP activist and former Mayor of Francistown, Ignatius Moswaane, advised those who are disillusioned and have decided not to vote, to think twice.“Your abstention from voting is akin to actively supporting the BDP. The best way to express your anger or disappointment is to vote the UDC. I am making a similar request to the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) members.Please align with the UDC as individual voters,” Moswaane, who is the MP for Francistown west and former Mayor of Francistown, appealed.The BCP, which has apparently withdrawn from the UDC will go to the elections in partnership with the Botswana Labour Party (BLP).“I call upon you on behalf of the UDC to please register in large numbers and vote. If you do that, the BDP will lose power. Just pause for a while and think about your brother, sister or neighbour who is unemployed.“You can do something about it. Also, do not allow yourself to be bought to vote in a certain way by the BDP,” Councillor for Moselewapula, Gift Tebo cautioned and called on the voter to mobilise the voting community for ‘regime change.’For former Mayor of Francistown, Peter Ngoma, the UDC is the only party whose government can address the menaces of job scarcity, shortage of accommodation and other social and economic ills bedevilling the country. Ngoma’s verdict is that the BDP is a spent force.“As the cooperating parties, our goal should be to bag all the three Francistown constituencies and many more beyond Francistown to enable us to rule,” Ngoma said.

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UDC will not allow election rigging in 2024