BCP,UDC to face off at Moselewapula
Chakalisa Dube | Monday July 4, 2022 06:00
The by-election has been called to replace fallen BCP councillor, Reuben Kethoilwe. The UDC is a coalition featuring BCP, Botswana National Front (BNF) and Botswana Peoples Party (BPP).
The BCP had initially said it will contest under the coalition banner. However, Mmegi has established that the party has since changed its position and will now contest the by-election outside the UDC.
The BCP has decided to change its position following the suspension of its president Dumelang Saleshando and secretary-general Goretetse Kekgonegile from the UDC.
Although the BCP is yet to officially announce that it will not contest Moselewapula under the UDC banner, key activists in the ward have confirmed that the former will not contest under the coalition.
Saleshando and Kekgonegile were suspended as a result of not apologising for openly speaking against the UDC in the media. The BCP believes there is no sound governance in the UDC. It has also turned out that the UDC will also field a candidate from the BPP although the move is yet to be made public. For some time, the BPP has been said to be preparing a candidate for the by-election.
Unlike in the past, this week BCP spokesperson Mpho Pheko was non-committal as to whether the BCP will contest Moselewapula ward outside the coalition.
“We will meet soon to try to figure out what the suspension (Saleshando and Kekgonegile’s suspension) is all about. To us the suspension of the party president and secretary-general means the suspension of the BCP. Right now, there is no party position as to whether the party will contest as a sole entity or under the UDC,” she said.
The BCP youth league also released a statement urging the party to contest Moselewapula by-election outside the UDC. The youth league further said the BCP should work hand in hand with the Alliance for Progressives (AP) in the by-election. The BCP fielded a candidate and worked with the AP at Bophirima ward by-election early this year after the former could not agree with other UDC partners on which party should field a candidate.
“The UDC is not the alpha and omega of opposition unity. The horse has bolted and the moment is opportune to solidify our relationship with AP. Contesting Moselewapula abets our burgeoning relationship with the AP whilst on the other hand distancing ourselves from the toxic relationship with the UDC of the BNF and truncating our journey to the exit door from the toxic marriage,” reads a statement from the BCP youth league.
Despite growing indications that the UDC intents to field a candidate at Moselewapula ward through the BPP, the coalition spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa maintained the contrary.
“The BCP is a member of the UDC with full rights like any other member. It manages and is the incumbent in the ward. We therefore, expect it to contest under the UDC. The situation is the BPP manages Francistown West constituency where Moselewapula ward lies. It is the party that manages the constituency/ward that provides the candidate in the event of a by-election in that particular area as agreed by the NEC,” he said.
However, Mohwasa said that if a party cannot provide a candidate for a respective by-election, they can turn to other partners within the coalition to provide one.
“This happened recently in Phitshane/ Molopo by-election where the BNF fielded a BCP member. We remain consistent as the UDC on who represent us in by-elections. We would not like to see a repeat of Bophirima because such incidents tarnish the UDC image. The BPP is a disciplined member of the UDC and we believe insinuations that it is planning to field a candidate in the by-election are malicious and seek to feed a particular narrative,” he said.
BCP candidate for Moselewapula by-election is Oagile Wairi.