UDC denies

Saleshando pushes for UDC congress

Congress to be scheduled after completion of opposition talks

No middle ground at the upcoming UDC NEC

Boko to bend or risk letting the BCP go

“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground”. That is just a quote from a fantasy TV show except that it sums up the real and current situation between the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the Botswana National Front (BNF).

BCP wants to take over the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) presidency through a congress but BNF has made it clear that it would not have any of that.

The UDC, which is a tri-party coalition party also formed by the hushed Botswana People’s Party (BPP), cannot have two presidents therefore one of BNF and BCP has to give up its desire to the throne.

By contesting on opposites recently in the Bophirima ward by-election, the BCP and the BNF have already shown everyone that they are not willing to compromise despite the fact that they are both affiliated to the UDC. The BCP, which feels that it has been left in the trenches by the BNF for so long, will finally close this chapter and the BNF will choose whether to bend or risk letting the whole opposition coalition structure collapse.

There is no option where the two warring parties can meet halfway so they are currently playing the game of thrones where one must do whatever is necessary to win. Now that both parties are heading to the UDC NEC on May 21, 2022, the BCP president who is also the UDC vice president, Dumelang Saleshando will give UDC and BNF president Duma Boko an ultimatum, something that will finally put the issue to bed. Saleshando and his BCP had long been pushing for an inaugural UDC congress, a move insiders say Boko does not entertain in fear of losing his grip on the ‘people’s project’.

A source told Mmegi that Saleshando and the BCP are ready for two outcomes which are either winning their quest with Boko or risking the wrath of the voters like it happened in 2014 when they pulled out of the coalition talks. Deep down, it said that Saleshando knows that the recent association with the Alliance for Progressives (AP) cannot help them to dethrone the ruling Botswana for Democratic Party (BDP) but being consistently dwarfed by Boko and his BNF is also not an option.

The BCP has indicated its grown tiredness of BNF’s big brother mentality while the latter is cautious that its very own splinter-party intends to usurp the house it was let into in the first place. The source further told this publication that the BCP insists that all parties must be represented at the level of Presidents during the planned negotiations for the 2024 general election. “It is anticipated that the upcoming Presidential Forum will be established to resolve deadlocks emanating from the negotiation teams.

The BCP position is informed by the fact that the UDC is not a unitary political formation but a coalition of independent political parties. In fact, all parties are represented at the lower level of negotiation teams.

This emerged at the last meeting of leaders of political parties where the President of the BCP was present. The leaders agreed to the BCP proposal,” the source further stated. It is also said that the BCP believes that Boko is conflicted as demonstrated by the recent Bophirima by-election. “They have lost confidence in him as someone who cannot represent the interest of the UDC partners. Clearly, the UDC leader will find ways of objecting. It is anticipated that Boko will use the UDC NEC planned for May 6, 2022 to reverse the decision of the Presidential Forum, a move that will be resisted by the BCP. On the other hand, the position of the BPP is unclear but it has consistently endorsed proposals from BNF even where they go against issues

of good governance.