BPF Court AP

Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) is said to have approached the Alliance for Progressives (AP) in order to find ways of working together, The Monitor has learnt.

Talks were said to have started before the lockdown came into effect and were yet to resume.

According to a source, BPF has tasked a delegation of four officials led by its chairperson Oboetswe Gabotlale to ensure that opposition parties united and cooperated.

“It is true we have met with some AP leaders to negotiate how best we can work together as opposition parties,” Gabotlale said on Saturday.

“The negotiations are ongoing and I cannot share anything as I am yet to brief the executive committee on the matter. Maybe things will be clear after our second meeting because we met (for) the first time before the lockdown was announced.”

He said it was important for the opposition to cooperate and work together for them to unseat the ruling party, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).

Gabotlale said it was equally vital for opposition parties to speak with one voice in Parliament and Councils.

“We cannot win the ruling party if we are divided as opposition parties. It is also important for us to speak with one voice on how we are being treated as opposition parties with challenges we are facing,” he said.

Gabotlale said his party was still friends with the Umbrella for Democratic Party (UDC) and being in talks with AP is not going to affect the friendship. “We simply want opposition to be one,” he said.

AP secretary-general, Phenyo Butale, said there no one has approached them regarding issues of cooperation.

“Maybe they have been talking with some of our members not a formal structure. I hope they are going to come after lockdown. We know that some of the parties might come and request us to work with them,” Butale said.

He added he was willing to talk with any party that wants to discuss issues of cooperation.