'BNF is victim of coalition arrangement'
Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday July 19, 2022 06:00
Boko was speaking yesterday during the opening of the BNF elective congress at Ba Isago University. Boko said the BNF, which has compromised a lot for the sake of unity, has worked tirelessly since 2012 and even worked harder to make sure that the coalition remains intact.
He said as a result they suffered the consequences. In the National Assembly, the BNF has gone on a downward spiral since joining the UDC. In the 2014 General Elections, the BNF had eight Members of Parliament (MP) while one of the UDC founding partners, Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), had nine parliamentary seats of the 17 that UDC won. In 2019, BNF only won four out of the 15 that the UDC won.
With the BCP currently threatening to leave the UDC, Boko as president of both patty and coalition said at some point they have worked for other parties in the coalition more than their own. “Sometimes when we help them they get the needed help because we put our strength and resources into aiding them.
We do that to build unity and most of the time after crossing the bridge issues start to unfold. They start to become full of themselves and arrogant,” he indicated. Boko added that their partners, after winning the general elections under one ticket, start dividing the UDC by boasting about the number of legislators and councillors they have. Boko said some of them go around belittling the same people who uplifted them. “We have seen these challenges both in 2014 and 2019.
This is not good for opposition unity and it is more like working towards ensuring that the BDP stays in power,” he said. Boko said as a party they are used to these challenges. “We have tackled them and we are still trying to conquer these challenges,” he said.
Boko compared the BMD situation after 2014 to the current situation happening with the BCP. Currently, BNF’s coalition partner and splinter party, the BCP, has 11 MPs and this was a historic feat for the party which was formed in 1998. Before they joined the UDC, the BCP was not doing well on its own and in 2004 it only had one MP in Dumelang Saleshando. The BCP registered three more MPs in the 2009 General Elections to make it four.
The BCP then dropped one MP after registering only three MPs in the 2014 General Elections. Since the 2019 General Elections, the BNF on the other hand has lost two of its four MPs who defected to the BDP. With the BNF often accused of using the 'big brother' mentality to get its way in the UDC, Boko maintains that BNF is the backbone of the UDC because it respects how opposition parties' unity should operate. He said the BNF is currently leading the opposition party negotiations.
The UDC has been trying to lure other opposition parties like Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). Some of the BPF members like former Tati East MP Guma Moyo were invited and were present at the BNF congress yesterday. “I have often been accused of giving away our constituencies and treating people with kids’ gloves but I was merely following on the task you gave me in 2010. I had to show our partners that we are people who can be trusted and that we open our hearts when we work with others,” he said. Boko said BNF defined a path and determined a trajectory which shows where politics should be headed. “BNF is a multi-organisational united front and it is a party other organisations should join. We are a mass democratic organisation,” he said.
He further indicated that they unite people from all walks of life with one mission of unity. Boko said the BNF is an inspiration for coalition politics. He emphasised that BNF was formed to unite opposition parties in Botswana. Boko revealed that the resolution that was taken at the BNF congress in 2010 was to unite opposition parties. He said people should understand the strategic position of the BNF in Botswana politics.