BCP postpones final lap of primary elections

Amid reports of a low voter registration turnout, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) has announced postponement of its final lap of primary elections to next month.

The primaries were originally slated to take place in January, but have since been moved to February.

In an interview on Sunday, BCP spokesperson Dr. Mpho Pheko explained that the decision to postpone the primary elections was arrived at to allow the party more time to mobilise members of the public to register to vote in the 2024 General Election.

“The party is hoping to encourage as many people as possible to take part in the democratic process,” Pheko said.

“Each candidate and their campaign team are expected to conduct house-to-house campaigns in order to encourage people to register for elections. The candidates will be working hard to reach as many potential voters as possible.”

Pheko explained that primary election candidates’ first priority will be to reach out to BCP members and ensure that they have registered. “After that, the candidates will focus on reaching out to the wider community,” she said.

The spokesperson added one of the strategies for candidates is to introduce themselves to the community so that people know who they will be voting for in the general election, with candidates working around the clock to get to know the people in their constituencies or wards and build relationships with them.

According to Pheko, BCP will contest in 45 out of the 61 constituencies on offer in the upcoming general election. The remaining 16 constituencies having been allocated to the party’s coalition partner, Botswana Labour Party, which will hold its primaries in February. Pheko said the two parties are committed to collaborating closely and supporting each other’s candidates ahead of October.