BCP, BLP formalise partnership tomorrow
After losing its potential partner Alliance for Progressives (AP) to the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) in May, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) has moved on and will officially announce its partnership with Botswana Labour Party (BLP) tomorrow.
Even though this is a partnership as the two prepare for the 2024 General Election, BCP has previously revealed that both parties will use the BCP logo and brand, a move which suggests that the latter will eventually swallow the newbie in the political circles.
Amongst others, the two parties will tomorrow announce their model of cooperation since the BCP will not lose its brand or agree to a total merger.
With what happened to the Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM), National Democratic Front (NDF), and Marx, Engel, Lenin and Stalin (MELS) in the past, political pundits believe that there can never be a true merger between forces that are unequal in political strength like the BCP and BLP. Both the BCP and BLP lost AP in May when the latter left the negotiations talks after fighting over seven constituencies, namely Gaborone Central, Mogoditshane, Tati West, Nata-Gweta, Francistown West, Gaborone North, and Lerala/Maunatlala.
The three parties started talks in September 2022, but negotiations collapsed when the AP called it quits. Following AP’s exit, there was a disgruntled member of the latter led by former Mogoditshane legislator Sedirwa
Kgoroba, but the group has since joined the lime movement.
BLP, just like the BCP, is a Botswana National Front (BNF) splinter party and is led by BNF president Duma Boko’s former right-hand man, Reverend Prince Dibeela, who will be there to address the media alongside BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando tomorrow.
BCP, on the other side, is on its way out of the UDC and has revealed that it will contest next year’s elections outside the umbrella. Following BCP’s exit, the UDC has since recruited AP and Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF).
Next year’s elections will be a threehorse race amongst the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), UDC, and BCP-BLP. Now, BCP will announce a union with the BLP fresh from winning the Lepokole/Borotsi ward by-election convincingly. “We have been negotiating for a long time since AP left the negotiation table. We have finalised a lot amongst others constituency allocation and wards, the two parties have agreed on governance amongst others,” BCP spokesperson, Mpho Pheko told The Monitor yesterday. She said the two parties will formalise their union through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which will be the highlight of the occasion. BCP secretary-general, Goretetse Kekgonegile told The Monitor last month that the BCP and BLP will contest in all the constituencies and wards in the coming general election. Kekgonegile disclosed that out of the 61 constituencies, the BCP will compete in 44, while the BLP will have a go at it in 17.