Masisi hints at Bulela Ditswe restrictions
Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday August 30, 2022 07:24
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the party's Tsabong congress yesterday, Masisi said the newly elected central committee (CC) of the BDP and some members in the regions and braches should not use their positions to uplift their statuses ahead of the primary elections also known as Bulela Ditswe.
Next year the BDP will host its Bulela Ditswe and history has shown that it has been a tumultuous process that gives the leadership a headache. “There are those who are in the structures to prepare for the primary elections. There is a way we are going to go about it and we will discuss this because we want fairness at the primary elections.
Even for members of the CC who want to stand for primary elections, there will be a way,” he said. Introducing the newly elected CC led by his right-hand man, Vice President Slumber Tsogwane, Masisi said he is aware that some in the newly elected CC may be in the structures for the wrong reasons.
Masisi has not revealed what they are going to decide as leadership. “We will discuss it and we will communicate once a decision has been made,” he later indicated at a press conference. Primary elections have generally become a source of disputes within the BDP because losers do not accept outcomes and big guns frequently fall. Disgruntled party members, out of frustration, usually choose to break ranks with their political home and become independent candidates as a result.
Others choose to reconcile with the party at a later time while some join the opposition ranks. Since the introduction of Bulela Ditswe, the BDP has raised hundreds of independent candidates at both council and parliamentary levels. “When I give you a task you better do it. I am going to drive you. You cannot be untrustworthy, you cannot be leakers of information, you cannot be divisive, you cannot be gossipmongers, and you stick to your mandate. They are going to work hard including the regions, branches,” Masisi told BDP members yesterday.
Already the BDP has been striving to make the secretary-general (SG) position fulltime so that they serve the party well. In the past SGs had to juggle the position with legislative and Cabinet duties. The newly elected SG, Kavis Kario will have to work fulltime as the party gears up for the 2024 General Election.