Can UDC coalition be resuscitated?
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday July 25, 2022 06:00
FRANCISTOWN: Recent events happening in the controversy-plagued UDC have dampened the trust that the people had in the tripartite coalition. The suspension of Dumelang Saleshando and Goretetse Kekgonegile, the president and the secretary-general of the BCP respectively, from the UDC has caused serious problems for the coalition.
During the BCP conference in Mahalapye, it was apparent that most BCP supporters were of the view that the duo was suspended for taking the high road. Therefore, it was not surprising that a section of BCP supporters was of the view that the BCP should leave its parent organisation, the UDC, and forge a strategic partnership with like-minded organisations like the Alliance of Progressives (AP).
During the AP congress in Francistown, delegates of the AP gave their leadership their blessings to work with the BCP.
This fuelled the notion that in future, the AP and the BCP will work together outside the UDC. This is even though the UDC is also courting the AP to join it.
In fact, during the AP congress, its president Ndaba Gaolathe made veiled attacks on the UDC and its leader, Duma Boko, for treating the UDC like his personal fiefdom.
Boko has on countless occasions denied accusations that he is a dictator because he holds no influence over the 12 National Executive Committee members of the UDC.
While it was apparent that Gaolathe was referring to Boko, the AP leadership later denied this when asked by a journalist during the press conference. When addressing the press conference, the vice president of the AP, Wynter Mmolotsi, was resolute that the current UDC constitution is undemocratic and makes it hard for other opposition parties to consider joining the UDC. Clarifying his point, Mmolotsi, who described himself as one of the midwives of the UDC constitution, added that under the present constitution, the constitution stipulates that only the president of the BNF can be the president of the UDC.
Mmolotsi said the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), a party he was a member of before the AP – a breakaway party from the BMD was formed, was against that decision. The AP vice president said their late president Gomolemo Motswaledi told them to just accept the constitution as it was for the sake of opposition unity.
Mmolotsi added that the BMD accepted the UDC constitution as it was with the hope that it will be changed after the 2014 general election but till today that has never happened.
In the same breath, the BCP congress gave it the mandate to remain within the UDC for six months on the condition that the controversy-plagued UDC puts its house in order.
On the other hand at the BNF congress, Boko attributed the dwindling fortunes of the BNF to the help it has rendered to other parties within the UDC.
Before the recent congresses, the AP and the BCP were forging a close working relationship. Asked if the poor working relationship among some UDC affiliates had contributed to the precarious situation that the UDC currently finds itself in, a political analyst from the University of Botswana (UB), Adam Mfundisi answered in the affirmative.
He said: “Coalition politics is about enhancing power and stretching resources to enable the constituent parties to effectively compete for political power. Coalitions are difficult to form and hold together in any political environment. Botswana’s politics is no exception.”
Mfundisi echoed what Phenyo Butale, the secretary-general of the AP, acknowledged during the AP press conference. Butale acknowledged coalitions have their pros and cons.
He added that challenges that may rock coalitions are insurmountable if there is genuine truth amongst leaders of different parties within that political model.
“UDC is embroiled in internal conflagrations, which are typical of coalitions all over the World. Coalition building is beset with problems that require strategic leadership at all levels. Political parties form coalitions to gain more influence and power by combining votes and resources. Coalition parties must have clear objectives that go beyond winning an election but the long-term working relationship that cements the coalition,” Mfundisi said.
Sufficient research, Mfundisi noted, needs to be carried out to choose a coalition format that works.
He added: “Information sharing, massive recruitment of voters, resource mobilisation, and issue-based politics are necessary when competing with an incumbent party that has ruled a country for more than five decades. The UDC as a coalition formation is viable and desirable as many voters want to change for the betterment of their lives. Opposition parties have contributed immensely to the development of Botswana. They have proposed progressive policies for the socio-economic and political development of the country. Amidst resistance from the BDP government, opposition forces have relentlessly pursued a development agenda for Botswana...”
The UB academic opines that the UDC is bound to unify political parties to be able to enhance three fundamental resources in politics, namely people (voters), money, and time.
“Political participation in the UDC must be a top priority to maintain stability in the coalition movement. Maintaining trust amongst UDC partners is important. And communication promotes trust and confidence between contracting parties. Decision-making authority needs to meet frequently to deal with issues besetting the coalition. A dispute resolution mechanism must be created to deal with controversial issues and conflicts that may arise. Decision makers from each party must negotiate, compromise, cooperate, respect each other, and pursue the bigger picture,” said Mfundisi.
The UDC brand needs to be re-engineered to focus on the bigger picture, Mfundisi buttressed.
“Additionally, there is a need for leaders of political parties to pursue strategic leadership. A cult of leadership is a danger to a progressive UDC. Politics of personalities is the antithesis of coalition building and sustainability. Political leaders at all levels must maintain the coalition and push aside personal issues and stick to collective politics. Maintaining trust through leadership meetings to enhance communication.”
Asked what will be at stake at Moselewapula should the BCP-AP axis win the by-election, Mfundisi responded: “The AP-BCP partnership towards the Moselewapula by-election is sealed and there is a higher chance of the ward being won by the BCP. The council ward is a stronghold of the BCP within the UDC. It’s unfortunate that the by-election came at a time when there is instability within the UDC. Opposition parties need to compromise, negotiate, and agree to disagree for posterity for all.”
Quizzed what will be at stake should the BCP-AP tag team lose against the UDC like in the Bophirima in Gaborone, the UB pundit answered: “Win or lose for the BCP, it is not the end of the coalition. Statements from the BCP and the BNF leadership are encouraging. The UDC brand can still be resuscitated for the good of the people of Botswana. It remains the most viable alternative to the corrupt BDP regime, which has underdeveloped Botswana for five decades. Corruption in Botswana has become an industry.”
However, Mfundisi is of the view that the BDP has a slim chance of winning the ward.
“The chances of the BDP winning the by-election are slim. The same was assumed in Bophirima to no avail. The BDP is not saleable nowadays due to the hardships faced by voters. The BDP policies have been worsening the socio-economic and political conditions in the country. Poor governance has contributed to extreme poverty amid plenty, high unemployment, inequality, diseases, criminality, and other social ills,” said Mfundisi.
Zibani Maundeni, a professor of politics at UB said that the high level of mistrust within the UDC has made it inhabitable.
Maundeni opines that the cooperation between the BCP and the AP, which previously happened in Bophirima, is also an indication that the BCP is just buying time to leave the UDC to work with like-minded opposition parties like the AP.
“The BCP has no commitment to remain in the UDC because it feels unwanted. The BCP should give the AP the guarantee that they can conductively work together,” Maundeni said.
Asked what will be at stake should the BCP-AP axis lose the Moselewapula by-election, the political observer stated that politicians are not afraid of losing elections on principle.
“The BCP and the AP are just testing the political waters. They are testing if their partnership can work and care less about losing,” Maundeni stated.