BCP pushes for compromise candidates
Chakalisa Dube | Monday January 30, 2023 06:00
The party will soon issue a writ for its primary elections which will be used to identify candidates for the 2024 General Election. In addition, the party is currently in talks with the Alliance for Progressives (AP) and Botswana Labour Party (BLP) for possible partnership at next year’s general election.
It has however been widely reported that negotiations for the allocation of constituencies amongst the three parties are almost done. Shashe West is amongst the constituencies that will reportedly be allocated to the BCP.
So far, four men, Motlhaleemang Moalosi, Oganne Mazwigwila, Alfred Mashungwa and Kenosi Ndiwani are reportedly interested in contesting the party primaries for the constituency.
However, addressing an in-house meeting last Saturday BCP secretary general, Goretetse Kekgonegile is said to have advised party members in the constituency to work on a compromise and at least identify two candidates to contest the primaries.
Kekgonegile is said to have expressed concerns that having many candidates for the primaries can leave the party a polarised entity and impact negatively on its chances at the next general elections.
Shashe West is one of the BCP strongholds as the party boasts of several councillors in the area. Insiders at the meeting have indicated that Mashungwa and businessman as well as academic Moalosi are now likely to slug it out at the primaries in the event that a compromise is reached. They reportedly enjoy the support of many BCP diehards.
Mashungwa was candidate for the BCP at the 2019 General Election while Moalosi was a candidate at the 2014 polls. In both occasions the two men lost to Fidelis Molao. Meanwhile, a day after Kekgonegile’s address in Shashe-West he also gave BCP members in Francistown West a clear mandate to urgently find potential (parliamentary) candidates for the constituency as part of preparations for the next general elections. “We have been given until February to have at least identified potential candidates for the constituency.
The party secretary-general indicated that if we fail to meet the February deadline the central committee will assist with the identification of potential candidates,” said an insider who was at the Sunday meeting. Vain Mamela represented the party in Francistown West at the 2019 General Election but he is widely tipped to contest the next year’s general elections in Francistown East.
There is no BCP member who has expressed desire to contest the primaries for the constituency so far. Potential candidates for respective BCP primaries usually show up months before the writ is officially issued.
The BCP leadership is said to be deeply worried that the party might find it difficult to adequately prepare for the general elections in the constituency if strong potential candidates are not identified on time.
Yesterday, Kekgonegile confirmed that the party is pushing for a compromise candidate in Shashe West. He emphasised that primaries are easy to manage when there are few candidates.
According to him, having fewer candidates will reduces squabbling amongst members. “It is not in the interest of the party to have many primary elections candidates contesting for the same constituency or ward.
This is a conversation that we will have with all BCP members,” he said. He added: “For Francistown-West I encouraged members to start a discussion in relation to potential candidates for the constituency.
We anticipate that we will be given Francistown West and Shashe West owing to some factors amongst them incumbency. It is important to emphasise that I am not in any way preempting the outcomes of negotiations we have with parties in relation to allocation of constituencies.”