BLP faces huge coalition dilemma
Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday November 1, 2022 06:00
The BLP, which is a Botswana National Front (BNF) splinter party, was here on Saturday as guests at the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) congress.
Last week, BLP was also spotted at the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and Alliance for Progressives (AP) negotiations table.
They can’t join the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) because the interim BLP president Prince Dibeela fell out with BNF president, Duma Boko.
Dibeela deputised Boko for a long time before being ousted at BNF’s Ba Isago congress earlier this year. Now the options available are to either forge a new coalition with BMD and Real Alternative Party (RAP) or join the BCP-AP coalition.
In an interview, BLP interim secretary-general, Kgakgamatso Kebiditswe said he cannot exactly say they are forming a new coalition with BMD and RAP at the moment. “What is important as BLP is that in the end, we want a united opposition. It’s not just opposition but like-minded parties. BMD is one party which invited us to their congress and we were happy to come,” he added.
Kebiditswe also said it is not just BMD but also the BCP that invited them to their talks with the AP. He said at the moment they are open-minded as a new party and are willing to sit down and have talks with everyone in the opposition scene except the UDC. “Our position is that as we talk with these parties we want to hear what they have to offer and also share what we offer,” he further indicated. Kebiditswe said they can’t work with the UDC because they have a problem with the latter’s democracy model.
He said they can’t work with a leader like Boko, who is the UDC president. “Boko takes decisions alone, he doesn’t want to be advised and he speaks ill of other members. They should remove Boko, that is when we'll talk.
We haven’t shut the door completely,” he highlighted. Last week BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando confirmed that the BCP and AP negotiating teams met with the BLP representatives. “It is public knowledge that the latest splinter party from the BNF has shown interest in joining hands with the BCP and AP to build a credible and democratic alternative to the BDP for the 2024 General Elections.
When I saw the pictures from the meeting with the Botswana Labour Party I was struck by the smile on the face of Dibeela. I have served with Dibeela for many years in the UDC leadership.
He also served as deputy leader of the BNF over the same period. In the many meetings that I have attended as part of the UDC with Dibeela, rarely has there been a moment that warranted smiling by the leadership.
I had become accustomed to a stern face by Dibeela, a man of the cloth, whose natural demeanour should always be a welcoming smile. Hopefully, the new Botswana will also be about smiling faces,” Saleshando wrote on his Facebook page.