BLP: The challenges of a new party
Chakalisa Dube - Lebogang Mosikare | Monday October 3, 2022 06:00
Now, there is another new entrant in the country’s political landscape, the Botswana Labour Party (BLP). Details surrounding the formation of the party are still shrouded in secrecy and controversy, but sources say its launch is imminent.
It is common cause that the party founders are former Botswana National Front (BNF) members who feel there is no longer a place for them under the BNF led by Duma Boko.
Some of those behind the party are former BNF vice president Reverend Mpho Dibeela and veteran politician Mokgweetsi Kgosipula. Sampling its chances of survival, the new party would predictably face several obstacles to assert itself or make a statement. One of the difficulties that might arise is failure to gain public recognition.
There is evidence on the ground indicating that some of the parties that have been formed over the last decade have struggled to gain public acceptance and relevance. The Alliance for Progressives (AP) is a case in point. Although it was founded on good ideals, the AP is yet to appeal to many people or build solid structures across the country. The Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) also went on a self-destruction mode a few years after its formation. The BMD split led to the formation of the AP. The BMD has since gone into oblivion.
There is also increasing competition for voters with other opposition parties in the country. It is against this background that the new party might fail to entrench itself. In addition, although they are not wealthy, the country’s main opposition parties, Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and Botswana National Front (BNF) do have satisfactory resources that have allowed them to build some structures.
Unless the BLP becomes innovative, it might face the prospect of not having enough resources to traverse the tough political terrain and build solid structures across the country. One factor that might make the chances of failure for the BLP dauntingly high is that it was formed by BNF cadres who recently lost the Central Committee elections to a pro Boko faction.
For this reason, some might perceive the party as an entity that was not founded on a solid ideology but sheer bitterness as a result of losing the elections. In a nutshell, the BLP might have good intentions, but it might just be dismissed as a union of bitter losers. There is also no general enthusiasm about the new party.
It seems like the party is struggling to take off. This is one factor that might discourage people from joining or associating with it. The fact some of the BNF members who were initially behind the party are said to have developed cold feet might also weaken the party’s chances to appeal to voters. The BLP was formed to represent the interest of the workers among others. However, the party might be compromised in terms of its ability to attract the workers under its fold.
This is because workers and trade unions appear to be losing interest in the ‘scandal prone’ opposition politics in general. Some of the founders of the BLP are also not popular politicians. They are not bad politicians but to an extent they lack charisma and wit.
That is why they might find it hard to influence people to join the new movement. Sampling the chances of Botswana last born in politics, a political analyst at the University of Botswana (UB), Adam Mfundisi said the mushrooming and proliferation of parties is a global phenomenon and not isolated to Botswana's political space.
“A multi-party democratic dispensation allows for the creation of political parties to represent different interests, ideologies and perspectives. A healthy democracy must allow people who share similar interests, needs, perspectives and ideologies to come together and form a political party. The BNF is prone to disintegration for various reasons including dictatorial leadership and lack of intra and inter-party democracy.
The cult of leadership, which was promoted during the late Dr Kenneth Koma's reign, and now manifested in the Duma Boko's period has led to continuous political infighting leading to various splits,” said Mfundisi. The 1998 Palapye political debacle within the BNF, Mfundisi added, "culminated in the formation of the BCP". “And this split is haunting opposition cooperation and may lead to the BCP opting out of the UDC.
Vote splitting is always a result of many political parties in the electoral process. Why should it be attributed to opposition political parties and not to the ruling party? To me, a highly competitive electoral process is more important than the number of political players. With many political parties, voters are afforded wide choices thereby consolidating our democratic space.
A free, fair, credible and democratic election is required to moderate the political competition,” Mfundisi posits. He added: “It is a myth that the BDP can only be defeated at the polls through a single political formation. The UDC failed both in 2014 and 2019 General Elections to unseat the BDP. A coalition of many political parties is susceptible to disintegration due to various conflicting, contradictory, contrasting interests, priorities, aspirations and perspectives. The BLP may not add value to the political landscape of Botswana but it reflects the divisions within the BNF.
The BNF congress, Mfundisi said, was marred by controversies that created apprehensions, anxiety and polarised the party. “The winner takes all politics is the root cause of political disintegration. The BLP members may represent the moderates within the BNF and therefore prepared to join forces with the AP and the BCP axis. As it looks, the UDC is bound to split and the BCP forming an alliance with the AP and eventually the BLP joining them.
I assume that the BLP will find it hard to penetrate the already oversubscribed political space. Botswana has a small population, which may not demand many political parties. I do not think the party will in the short run manage to develop structures all over the country in lieu of the 2024 General Elections,” said Mfundisi. In his view, Mfundisi said the BLP is a temporary platform en route to joining the AP and BCP envisaged coalition of political parties. “The AP and the BCP are amenable to forming a single coalition political party and the BLP may take advantage of that formation to join. Political party financing in Botswana is a major concern and needs strategic leaders to reform. Managing political parties including the electoral process is expensive amidst lack of state funding. Only the BDP is overtly and covertly funded by the state under the guise of incumbency.
This has led to political corruption gaining ground in Botswana,” Mfundisi said. Asked whether the BLP will have any impact on the fortunes of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Mfundisi answered: “Not much, but it provides avenues for dissatisfied members of the BDP to find homage in the new party. Those who were vilified during the BDP elective Congress may find the new political party an opportunity to join and move on in their political lives. It is a tactical move to avoid being labelled as political traitors by being associated with either the BCP or the BDP. The BLP wants to be seen as an independent political party made up of BNF leaders and supporters disgruntled with the current leadership.”