Batswana lack trust and interest in political parties
DONNY DITHATO
Staff Writer
8/27/2004 2:38:44 AM (GMT +2)
The majority of Batswana (over 50 percent) feel that politicians serve their own interests at the expense of the populace and distrust the political leadership because of political scandals and corruption. During a workshop yesterday, to present a survey on political parties in Botswana jointly conducted by the University of Botswana Democracy Research Project (DRP), the German Institute of African Affairs and the Frederich Ebert Stiftung, DRP member, Dr Adam Mfundisi, said the negative views about the political system and political parties are not healthy for the country’s cherished democracy.
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Mfundisi said parties in Botswana were based mostly on personalities and were out of touch with the voting public, while the political landscape has been dominated by one party, to an extent that there is no real competitive multi-party system present. The DRP said that electoral laws and lack of financing of political parties have worked against a democratic and competitive political system, while the apparent lack of electoral outreach and consultation with members of the public was to an extent responsible for the diminished support for political parties.
It emerged from the survey that political parties are the most unpopular institutions in the country in relation to tribal institutions, such as the House of Chiefs.
The survey found that political parties and political systems are perceived to be self-centred, pursuing political power under the guise of public good. The survey also established that the majority of political parties and the political system do not encourage popular participation in the decision making process with about 54 percent of the respondents saying they never attend elections while the majority of the citizens do not regularly attend party meetings organised by political leaders. The public instead relied on radio and television for political information. Political leaders were found to be elected by a minority of party members, with less than 10 percent of respondents saying they had attended meetings to elect the political leadership.
Forty-seven percent of the respondents felt that the living conditions are not at all satisfactory compared to 18 percent who believed they are somewhat satisfactory, while 14 percent felt satisfied. Formal linkages between political parties and civil society were not pronounced and grassroot structures in most political parties are either weak or non-existent, with the role of labour unions in the political process somewhat minimal. Generally the labour movement was previously associated with the Botswana National Front (BNF), which mobilised its core support from labour organisations, hence it had a substantial number of political leaders that were labour union activists in its structures. In order to restore public confidence in political parties and democratic dispensation, the DRP says parties must focus on issues of ethics of public service, democratic party structures and electoral reforms that would endure popular participation, transparency and openness in their operations as well as that of the government. The leadership must dedicate themselves to political renewal and reforms of political parties and the political system as a matter of urgency.
Pressing issues for political parties in order to win voter confidence according to the electorate were hierarchically regarded as unemployment as their first response, followed by crime and security, education and the AIDS pandemic. The electorate was also concerned about the quality or calibre of candidates they would be fielding while party affiliation, gender, age or religiousness of a candidate did not add value, to persuade voters to cast a vote for a given candidate. The ideal candidate was regarded as the one who has the necessary skills and capabilities to offer effective representation and is also philanthropic.
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