Over 400 candidates to contest BCP primary elections
BCP holds first batch of primaries on Saturday Tight contest expected in Selibe Phikwe, Gamalete, Nkange BCP to go solo in 2024 general election
Opposition Botswana Congress Party ( BCP) will tomorrow ( Saturday) conduct its primary elections for both Council and Parliamentary seats.
The BCP becomes the first political party to hold primaries ahead of next year’s national polls. The party which contested under the Umbrella for Democratic Change ( UDC) in the 2019 general election, will go it alone after a soured relationship with the UDC especially its President Advocate Duma Boko.
The BCP would later on get into talks with Alliance for Progressives ( AP) but the talks failed to bear fruit following claims by the AP that the BCP were negotiating in bad faith.
The BCP will be going all alone for the first time following the collapse of opposition cooperation talks as the party did the same in 2014 after it did not agree with other political parties within the UDC being Botswana Movement for Democracy ( BMD), Botswana National Front ( BNF) and Botswana People’s Party ( BPP).
Constituencies where fierce battles are expected are both Selibe Phikwe West and East, Nkange and Gamalete, formerly known as Ramotswa. Selibe- Phikwe West has been rocked by internal divisions following the expulsion of the area Member of Parliament, Dithapelo Keorapetse from the party last year. Keorapetse was among MPs expelled during the party’s National Conference in Mahalapye for defying the party instruction not to attend a UDC Parliamentary Caucus meeting chaired by Adv. Boko. The constituency will pit Reuben Kaizer against Brothers Malema for the Parliamentary seat. The race in this constituency has been marred by disputes, prompting the intervention of the BCP executive committee.
At the heart of the conflict is an accusation from Kaizer’s camp that Malema’s team is not abiding by the rules and regulations governing the primary elections. Concerns have been raised to the effect that the other team will have an upper hand during the elections. Questions have been raised as to whether structured primary election campaigns can be conducted in full party gear outside party structures, whether the party attire branded ‘ The Boy’ ( a name given to Kaizer) can be worn by the team members or its leader, and if branded team attire is permissible under specific circumstances.
Other issues raised include allegations of card manipulation and the provision of name tags
exclusively to Kaizer’s team, leaving other constituency members without such identification. Kaizer is said to stand a chance to win the primaries as he has been in the good books of the party leadership for a long time. There have been claims that some members have been struck out of the voters’ roll ahead of the weekend polls. While the party leadership is said to be favouring Kaizer for the seat, it has been rumoured that Malema enjoys the support of some structures and party elders in the constituency. Before Keorapetse was expelled from the BCP, Kaizer was said to have been prepared by the party leadership to challenge him ( Keorapetse) during this year’s primary elections. The winner in this race will face the winner from the Botswana Democratic Party ( BDP) primary elections as well as Keorapetse, who doubles as Leader of Opposition in Parliament. Keorapetse is expected to contest under the UDC banner in the 2024 general election.
In Selibe- Phikwe East area MP, Kgoberego Nkawana is expected to go head- to- head with Dimpho Mashaba. The youthful Mashaba is not new in Selibe- Phikwe’s political space. He has contested for the Parliamentary seat during the 2014 general election under the UDC, while he was still a member of the BMD.
He has also served in various party structures in the constituency and in the Youth League. Until recently, Mashaba was the Senior Administration Officer in the Constituency Office of the BCP Vice President and MP for Bobonong, Taolo Lucas.
In Gamalete three candidates will battle it out for the Parliamentary seat. Boniface Mabeo, Gofaone Keakile and Geofrey Moduka. The three are newcomers within the BCP battles. Mabeo contested the 2019 general election in the constituency under the AP.
Former area MP Samuel Rantuana who won the constituency under the BCP ticket in 2014 and during national polls in 2019, will not contest. He is currently the BCP National Chairman.
Nkange which the BCP won in 2019 with Dr. Never Tshabang will see attorney Morgan Moseki going against businessman and Lecturer at University of Botswana ( UB) Motlhaleemang Moalosi. The duo is not new in the political trenches. They are expected to give each other a run for their money. They have both contested for Parliamentary seats before. Moseki has been trying his luck in Francistown East while Moalosi contested in Shashe West in 2014. BCP Secretary General Goretetse Kekgonegile told this publication that everything is ready for the elections. He pointed out that as usual the BCP has set the trend to prove that it is a members’ centred organisation and principled. He said the party respects inner party democracy. He said the party has passed a resolution during its conference and leadership forum that primary elections should be held before national voter registration by the Independent Electoral Commission ( IEC).
“We will have our primaries in 39 constituencies. The party has received 478 applications for both Parliamentary and Council seat. We will have our primaries held in two batches. The first one is this weekend while the other one will be in December this year. “This weekend we have elections in nine ( 9) constituencies and 122 wards across the country,” said Kekgonegile who is also MP for Maun East. He revealed that machinery, constituency elections committees and ballots are ready and have been deployed. The party will use indelible ink for voting with the aim of ensuring that people do not vote more than once.
He added that counting will be done at the polling stations and the numbers will then be tallied. According to the secretary general, the party has conducted pre- primary elections counselling for all candidates and will also do post elections counselling. He indicated that once done with their second batch of primary elections the party will prepare for the 2024 general election.