By-elections: A boost for UDC confidence
Ryder Gabathuse | Monday February 14, 2022 06:00
Out of 11 council by-elections last December, the UDC - a tri-party coalition comprising the Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) - backed by two other opposition parties, the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) and Alliance for Progressives (AP), joined hands and solidified their intentions. They reaped the fruits of their unity efforts. The opposition bagged eight out of the 11 seats contested.
In the past immediate weekend, albeit faced with a challenge of the requisite resources against a well-resourced ruling BDP, the opposition left an impression in the hearts and minds of many when it unseated the BDP from the council seat the opposition direly needed as a confidence booster.
Over the years, the country’s opposition parties have helped prolong the BDP in power through fragmentation and failure to present themselves as an alternative to the faltering and sometimes inept BDP.
The die is cast and with the opposition incessantly gaining more seats, their long lost followers could be considering returning to their fold and boosting them with the numbers when they are most needed.
To the ruling BDP, this is the most crucial moment as things continue to fall apart. The centre is not holding when the party is failing to wield the magic wand of its leader President Mokgweetsi Masisi. As they say, the party is as good as its leader.
All indications are that the BDP is set for more embarrassing defeats if it does not put its house in order and well in time. Factionalism seems to be rearing its ugly face at a time when the opposition is closing the gaps that have been robbing them of victory.
It seems the BDP leadership under Masisi is content with alienating supporters of former president Ian Khama instead of fixating their eyes on the proverbial ball. Anyone challenging the pro-Masisi group is mistaken for the party enemy and is simply alienated or purged.
The Advocate Duma Boko-led UDC has even started sampling its chances of winning power, a feat that has been eluding them, as the BDP grip on the seat of power has been very strong. It seems the 2024 general election are the most targeted after the UDC failed to make it in the 2019 polls where claims of election ‘rigging’ flew thick and fast. The court would later declare the BDP victory was above board after the UDC lost elections petitions with costs.
This week, the BDP conceded the weekend by-election defeat which the party spokesperson, Kagelelo Banks Kentse attributed to a lot of reasons.
He was quick to indicate that the political atmosphere is now proving to be toxic after losing badly last December when his party won only three council by-elections out of the possible 11.
Now, the latest loss has aggravated things.
Kentse told Mmegi that they might sound like a broken record to be blaming the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their accelerated losses of by-elections in a short space of time. He feels that the results are a reflection of depressed voters who are seemingly all out to punish the ruling party.
“It seems the voters who trusted us with their votes previously need motivation of some sort now to continue with us,” he explained.
The BDP takes the losses seriously as according to Kentse, it is the case of voters giving them some signal to seriously introspect and get to the bottom of matters. The BDP leadership according to its worried spokesperson, “listens all the time and gets feedback from the people”. He promised that they will continue to do everything possible and listen to the concerns of the masses despite the battering they continue to get.
He considers the country to be experiencing a crisis of some sort as taxes are generally up, fuel is up, electricity tariffs are up, “and people are definitely angry at all this and it seems it’s protest time from the masses and they are hitting us where it hurts the most now”.
The BDP spokesperson even shared that just this week, he also had a rude awakening when he filled up the tank of his motor vehicle at more cost and believes that things were headed for trouble as the cost of living has since shot up.
“Surely, it’s the effects of COVID-19 that are hitting hard on the masses who are already grappling with unemployment and other societal ills and as the party in government, no escape for us, we are punished,” bemoaned Kentse who promised that his party was doing everything possible to cushion the effects of the societal ills, albeit it’s proving to be a tall order as it cannot all be reversed in the blink of an eye.
Moeti Mohwasa, the spokesperson for the UDC this week was impressed by the opposition resurgence as the coalition partners are doing very well and set to usher in the glory days.
In Mohwasa’s views, the 2019 results of the general election did not represent the feelings of the people now. He is convinced that it is becoming even clearer that the BDP did not win the elections by the margin they did. In other words, he says the BDP victory was simply a result of ‘rigging’.
“The elections were rigged,” he declared echoing the concerns of the UDC post the 2019 general election.
The UDC has not reached where the party leadership wishes it could be, but the party spokesperson is elated that all indications are that people have confidence in the UDC project now.
He seems to concur with BDP’s Kentse that it is the societal ills dogging the nation that are responsible for the backlash that sees the BDP duly punished.
He also blames harassment of opposition operatives through the Directorate of Intelligence and Security and the Office of the President, which were not going to simply go unnoticed.
The recent controversial Bill, the Criminal Procedure and Evidence (Controlled Investigations) Bill, which by nature was feared to be intrusive and brought on a motion of urgency, Mohwasa feels also contributed to the rejection of the BDP at Ledumadumane East ward by-election.
He says it is a good thing for the opposition to be voted ahead of the ruling BDP but wished there could be unity in diversity in the opposition so that, “we could reach a point where we have a working relationship with the hope that everything shall fall into place.” Opposition talks are ongoing ahead of the 2024 polls.
Mohwasa was adamant that as the opposition they are not going to rush anything but, they are going to strive to put into place the right things first.
“We are going to take into consideration the interests of individual parties so that we don’t spoil our fortunes by rushing any decision,” he said referring to the ongoing opposition unity talks.