BCP/BNF fights spell opposition doom
FRANCISTOWN: Some analysts and members of the public are of the view that the tit for tat between the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and Botswana National Front (BNF) is a significant blow to the opposition’s chances of holding successful talks to unite and unseat the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power.
The opposition is currently dominated by two warring parties the BCP and the BNF who are affiliates of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). The tension between the BCP and the BNF emanates from the fact that both parties have decided to field candidates for the Bophirima ward by-election. This is against the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding on by-elections signed by opposition parties.
The other partner of the UDC is the Botswana People’s Party (BPP). Criticism has been mounting against the BNF and BCP, the country’s biggest opposition parties for failing to behave like credible parties.
The UDC and other opposition parties, the Alliance for Progressives (AP) and the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) are due to intensify cooperation talks for the 2024 general elections.
But in the wake of tensions between the BCP and BNF, concerns have been raised that opposition unity talks might not prioritise the interests of Batswana or their goals will not be for the good of the country. Instead, pundits believe that based on the history of opposition parties, conflicts among negotiating parties might take centre stage at the expense of voters’ interests.
This ultimately means that the talks might not produce any immediate deal for the opposition to unseat the ruling party from power.
As things stand, the ongoing conflict between the BCP and BNF is also eroding public confidence in the UDC, which was cited in some quarters as one of the major reasons that contributed to the the coalition’s loss of some of its strongholds in the southern part of the country in the 2019 general election.
This week, the publicity secretary of the BCP, Mpho Pheko, said she is optimistic that the debacle around the Bophirima ward by-election will be a lesson to all opposition parties to deal with matters openly, equitably, and democratically. “One hopes we will come out more strongly willed towards a meaningful opposition cooperation (characterised by constitutional order, good governance and internal democracy),” said Pheko. She added: “We want to believe that what is happening in Bophirima ward is a temporary realignment. We expect all the parties to take stock of themselves after Bophirima ward for the good of Batswana and Botswana. We will reflect and discuss after Bophirima ward, hoping that we all have learnt lessons that we desperately need to learn.” The BCP spokesperson also stated that the party is amenable to the assistance of third parties to mediate in future opposition cooperation talks. “We are also amenable to any third parties who may be willing to assist us as parties and leadership to see things differently for the good of Batswana’’, she said.
BNF spokesperson Justin Hunyepa downplayed suggestions that tensions between the BCP and BNF might slow down the momentum of the coalition of talks. “Differences have always been there in opposition coalitions and therefore, this was expected. The pace of the unity talks will largely depend on how the committee manages the talks. The BNF wholeheartedly supports a united opposition and still holds dearly to its 2010 congress resolution.”
He added: “The people currently seized with the opposition talks are competent enough to manage the talks. But, if they feel they need mediators, they will have to go back to their principals to get that mandate.”
A political analyst at the University of Botswana (UB), Mokaloba Mokaloba said the fielding of candidates by both the BNF and the BCP for Bophirima ward may spell doom for the opposition especially taking into consideration that they have a written arrangement that guides them on by-elections. Mokaloba also stated that even though it is true that it is difficult to have a smooth cooperation model, the current situation at Bophirima ward will probably deal a very strong blow to the opposition going forward.
The UB expert added that the situation speaks to long existing problems that predate the current Bophirima ward issue, which if not properly managed, have the potential to spell the worst for the opposition in future.
On the issue of other opposition parties siding with either the BCP or BNF in the Bophirima ward, Mokaloba explained that this greatly speaks to a lack of unity within the opposition, which the UDC structures, especially its National Executive Committee (NEC), should not take a back seat on but should decisively address the problems as and when they emerge in order to prevent the situation from getting totally out of control.