Youth leaders call for electoral reforms
Political funding, voter apathy, sexism are recurring challenges in local politics
Taking part in politics is difficult for women and sexism is one of the key factors women opt out of politics, and this problem can only be solved by socialisation, teaching and educating citizens of all ages on the importance of gender equality and equity, says President of the Botswana National Front Youth League Resego Kgosidintsi.
She recently returned from Nevada, USA on an exchange programme courtesy of the Organisation for Youth and Elections in Botswana ( OYEBO) and the American Council of Young Political Leaders ( ACYPL), funded by the American Embassy. The four selected candidates were drilled on cultural, political, human rights, voting and governance systems in the USA.
Kgosidintsi said that the challenges in political spaces are the same across all countries and political parties. “Political funding is a common one, voter apathy is also prevalent in all countries that I have been to,” she said.
There is a prevalence of voter apathy and poor participation by youth in Botswana, which is of grave concern. Kgosidintsi believes that youth do not participate in politics as voters because there is no meaningful change to their votes. “They vote but they still don’t have jobs and land, some don’t even have drinking water. As candidates, the youth don’t participate because they do not have the resources to stage competitive campaigns.”
Kgosidintsi also cited lack of funds as the main hindrance to active participation of youth. “Political funding can help foster the participation of youth in politics,” she said, adding that Botswana must introduce political funding and the elections must be free and fair, and opposition candidates must not be harassed during general election campaigns.
Kgosidintsi has big dreams for her political career. “I have a personal and national vision. Personally, I would like to occupy the top seat and be President. I would also love to see more women occupy meaningful positions in our political systems,” she said.
Another participant, Kagiso Jani, a practising attorney based in Francistown and a volunteer with OYEBO, said that the US trip was an eye opener. Their systems, although complicated in the sense that each state makes its own laws including electoral laws, generally, it is not that much different from the electoral systems here in Botswana.
“I must mention however that most of the issues the opposition complain about here at home, they are in a worse situation in USA but accepted as nor
mal. For example, an elected leader known as the Secretary of State, who is political, is the one who certifies election results. If you take this arrangement and take the usual complaint that the IEC must not be housed under the Office of the President, you then realise that our system is much better than what obtains in Nevada for example.
“Again, in Nevada, they use electronic voting machines with paper trails. They have learnt to trust each other and have made laws to safeguard any possible cheating unlike in Botswana where voting machines are rejected from far.”
Jani joined the Botswana Democratic Party ( BDP) in 2003 when he started his first year law degree at the University of Botswana. Since then, he has held a number of positions within the BDP. In 2009, he was Village ward council candidate for the BDP and together with other candidates and the late Gomolemo Motswaledi who was BDP Gaborone Central Parliamentary candidate, had waged a very strong campaign against the opposition.
Jani’s political journey halted when he moved to Pretoria, South Africa to further his studies. I relinquished my candidacy in order to focus on my professional growth, before returning to continue as an attorney. A fallout emerged between the late Motswaledi and the then party President Ian Khama leading to the formation of the BMD.
“I nonetheless remained at BDP to date and I am currently a member of the BDP in good standing and also a member of the BDP Electoral Board following recent appointments. I have also relocated to Francistown West constituency where I have been resident since October 2014.”
Politics is not for the faint- hearted and it requires commitment and financial muscle Jani noted. “Politics has become a very expensive game; the starting point is financial assistance in order for one to roll down his or her campaign. Young people have no financial muscle and therefore find it
difficult to compete in politics,” he said.
He also noted that there should be room for young people in the political landscape. “Elderly people must be willing to step down and allow young people to progress where they have left. The role of the elderly is however crucial in guiding the young people who at times are affected by youthful exuberance,” he said.
Jani said he was impressed by the level of political acumen and awareness among Americans.
“I had the benefit of attending a house to house campaign and a political rally in Las Vegas. Their politics is issue based. The trending issues were inflation and gas prices which are high.
Unlike back home, candidates do not need to slaughter any animals during campaigns and voters don’t expect to be spoon- fed nor given money when you reach their homes. A candidate literally spends less than 20 seconds in a household or just drops off their campaign material.”
He explained that there is some great level of tolerance and candidates spend their time deliberating on issues concerning the voters as opposed to character assassination.
There are however isolated incidents where a candidate will print materials tarnishing the other’s image and distribute to voters.
Jani said that having observed how the US politicians do their business in the political sphere, he is of the considered opinion that Botswana is on the right direction and upholds democratic values.
Elections are coming up in 2024 and Jani expressed hope that the IEC would look at all the areas which raised complaints during the last elections and take appropriate steps to avoid similar complaints.
“For example, there were complaints regarding the voters roll. This type of complaints tarnishes the credibility of our elections and must be cleared at the earliest. Again, this will avoid numerous election petitions.”