UDC fracas
The UDC as a bloc of opposition parties does not just exist, contest elections, and offer voters electoral choices, it has a challenge to show interest to get enough votes to win and finally hold political office. The UDC is united by a common interest which is to remove the BDP from power, but is now fighting for a single ward in a constituency they lost in 2019.
The UDC has seen that it is hard for candidates to win in constituencies that lean to the BDP. Already the BDP is saying that what is happening at UDC clearly shows that the coalition cannot lead the country or be entrusted with government. While the ruling party is focused on selling its capable candidate and the BDP to the people of Bophirima, the
UDC does not even have enough time to plan for the upcoming by-election. The candidacy issues at Bophirima ward, which are likely to continue post elections, give the BDP more ammunition. Consequently, the BDP will dominate the political arena, essentially reducing the by-elections and possibly other future elections to a onehorse race. Looking at Batswana’s electoral trend since 1965, voters consistently grant the lowest levels of trust to opposition parties. Therefore, in the five-year interval between elections, opposition parties, instead of building trust, they give voters even more reason to distrust their entities. The UDC is on the cusp of falling apart and its best hope of avoiding such a fate is to get its act together to win over certain voters, especially the ones who have defected to the ruling party. That is a dream that seems farfetched because there are too many contingent factors influencing electoral outcomes.
The BDP says it will go all out to ensure that it retains the vacant Bophirima ward. Now, as the UDC Bophirima ward candidacy remain unresolved, it is advantage to the BDP.