Mutiparty or two-party democracy, which way Botswana?
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
It was a break with the single-party democracy model adopted by the majority of African countries who had gained their independence ahead of Botswana in 1966. One-party democracy, except to its proponents wasn’t democracy at all, but a dictatorship of the elite of the new government system introduced. In the background of the 24/10/14 shell shock election results which dizzied some, euphorically infected others, spread headaches to the rest, a new furrow is being ploughed of a two-party model. Am I right?
The single-party democracy advocates argued that the system was democratic, seen from the historical and cultural perspective. They postulated that the kgotla-inkundla administration was democratic in essence: People gathered in kgotla/inkundla under the aegis of kgosi/inkosi, listened to the reports, exchanged views, debated and took decisions based on majority opinion. What more did one need to demonstrate a democratic exercise?
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...