Do manifestos really matter?

One morning in November 1993, Radio Botswana announced a coup in Nigeria. In the same reel, another coup was reported at the University of Botswana. Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) yearlings GS-26 ambushed and deposed SRC president Kabelo Lebotse of MASS-BNF.

The next day, Sir Ketumile Masire called Bernard Bolele and companions to the State House for a tongue lashing. His fears were simple. The young democrats were learning behaviours inconsistent with our democratic credentials and alien to Batswana.

Botswana has built a reputation of a different breed of Africanism. With exception of  March 1965 and September 1984, the beacon of democracy traditionally holds elections in October. The BDP National Council will forward a motion to the next congress billed for July 2019 to ratify a postponement of intra-party elections. This is a red flag for democracy.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

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...

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