No more seats for political rejects
The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Review of the Constitution has recommended that individuals who lose primary and or general elections should not be considered for Specially Elected Members of the National Assembly positions.
In the current administration led by President Mokgweetsi Masisi, there are a lot of coucillors and some legislators who were rejected by voters only to bounce back into political office.
The current Minister of Lands and Water Affairs Kefentse Mzwinila was booted out by Mmadinare legislator Molebatsi Molebatsi in the 2018 Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Bulela Ditswe primary elections only to come back to Parliament as a Specially Elected Member of Parliament (SEMP) after the 2019 General Elections.
The current Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Kgotla Autlwetse lost the Serowe North constituency to the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF)’s Baratiwa Mathoothe in the 2019 general elections and was also brought back as SEMP.
These are just living examples but many times in the past candidates who had been rejected by the electorate always found their way back.
This is not just a thing of the current administration but even during former president Ian Khama’s tenure former legislators like Kitso Mokaila who lost the Goodhope-Mabule MP seat to the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC)’s James Mathokgwane in the 2014 General Elections was also returned to the National Assembly as a Specially Elected MP and consequently the Minister of Minerals Energy and Water Resources.
Looking a further back, in 1969 former president the late Sir Ketumile Masire suffered a setback when he lost Kanye South parliamentary seat to his old rival Kgosi Bathoen II.
The founding president of Botswana Sir Seretse Khama, however, retained him as a Specially Elected MP in order for Masire to remain as the Vice President. A similar scenario also happened in 1984 when the then VP Peter Mmusi lost to the late leader of Botswana National Front (BNF) Kenneth Koma in a by-election for the Gaborone South Constituency.
Just like Masire, Mmusi was later specially elected and consequently endorsed as VP. In 1997, Constitution amendments were made that the President of the Republic is only permitted to appoint a Vice-President from among the elected (as opposed to specially elected MPs) and further that, any such appointee must be approved and/or endorsed by the National Assembly.
Besides MPs and councillors, submissions were made by people that career diplomats with requisite skills were being overlooked in favour of other people, especially those who lost elections. In 2020, former Cabinet minister Dorcas Makgato, who lost the Sefhare-Ramokgonami constituency to UDC’s Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang in the 2019 General Elections, bounced back after being appointed High Commissioner to Australia. Still in 2020, former Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) secretary-general, Gilbert Mangole was appointed High Commissioner of Botswana to India.
That same year, after serving as Specially Elected MP from 2014-2019, Mokaila was rewarded with a position as the Botswana Ambassador to the United States of America. “It was therefore, proposed that priority be given to career diplomats for Ambassadorial appointments and that they should be appointed by the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM),” reads a recommendation from the Commission.
The Commission recommends that Specially Elected MPs provision in the Constitution be retained and that improvements be made targeting marginalised, special and underrepresented groups,” further reads the report.
The Commission also recommended that the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly should be appointed from people who are not legislators.
In addition, the Commission advised that a Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs be established with responsibility over its budget and administrative affairs, separate from the Ministry for State President.