Opposition clash over Bophirima ward
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday February 28, 2022 06:00
This has since enraged some coalition members who feel 'enough is enough'. Already the BCP, which is an affiliate to the UDC, has compromised on the Lentsweletau, Metsimotlhabe and Tamasane wards. According to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Act, a vacant council seat by-election should be held within three months when a councillor dies or resigns.
The three wards, which were under the BCP care in the 2019 general election, were given to other opposition parties outside the UDC affiliation during the recent by-elections. Metsimotlhabe and Lentsweletau were given to the Alliance for Progressives (AP) while Tamasane was given to the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). However, the BCP youth league has now put pressure on the party president and executive leadership to ensure that they negotiate the matter quickly.
This week, the youth league made it clear that its member, Peter Mogapi, is the right candidate for Bophirima ward in the Gaborone Bonnington South constituency. “We want Mogapi to be given preference in standing for any elections in Bophirima ward after 2019 general election. There is a letter that was written to the BCP by the UDC in 2019 that Bophirima ward is assigned to the BCP. Sometimes some of the things are not done properly in the UDC and when we talk to our party executive committee, they do not take us seriously. This ward is under our care and therefore, we have a candidate. Other members should support us as we have been supporting them at some of the wards that were still under our care. The BCP cannot be the only one that keeps on compromising a lot.
At times things are done unfairly to other partners and the writ might come out anytime while the UDC is taking time to confirm our candidate,” BCP youth President Tlhabologo Furniture said in an interview on Tuesday. He said what made them write a statement as the youth league is that they got shocked when they heard that other parties like the Botswana National Front (BNF) and Alliance for Progressives (AP) have expressed interest in contesting the ward. The youth league president said as the youth, they have already started campaigns at Bophirima ward in order to lure support from the residents of Bophirima ward. He continued: “We have started house to house campaigns because the UDC is taking long to endorse the candidate while time is not on our side. It is important to start early so that we can locate where the voters are.
Already, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has started.” Furniture confirmed that the UDC has not chosen its preferred aspirant candidate yet and they have also not engaged their party leadership on the matter. However, the BCP secretary-general Goretetse Kekgonegile said they are aware of the frustration of the members since the vacancy has been there for sometime. “The BCP is an affiliate of the UDC and therefore, we have other parties that we have an agreement with.
Of course, it brings frustration to members for us as the UDC to have taken long without resolving the issue of the candidate within time. We are going to engage others on the matter so that it gets resolved quickly and amicably. Whoever stands, needs the support of others.
The youth league has its own way at times of doing things but they should keep on engaging us so that they know our stand on the matter. It is true, the name of the candidate has not yet been released since the concerned parties are still in talks and it is normal,” Kekgonegile said. He said it is good for the members to have started campaigns and house to house but they should not have declared a candidate when the matter is still on the table. Kekgonegile also urged members to respect structures that are in place because some actions, in the end, might bring disputes within the UDC and other partners. The UDC has signed a memorandum of agreement on by-elections with the AP and BPF.
In the 2019 general election, at Bophirima ward, BDP got 731 votes, UDC got 437, AP had 333 while an independent candidate got 113. Meanwhile, over the weekend, the BDP had its own primary elections to select its aspirant candidate, Onkemetse Mothei.