BCP officially ditches UDC
Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday January 31, 2023 06:00
After months and months of uncertainty about its next move, the BCP has now revealed that the 2024 general election will be a three horse race between UDC, ruling Botswana Democratic Party and their new coalition with Alliance for Progressives (AP) and Botswana Labour Party (BLP).
This was revealed by BCP Secretary General (SG) Goretetse Kekgonegile at yesterday’s rally here. “Let’s prepare our minds for next year’s menu. It will be a three horse race come 2024.
It will be UDC, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and our alliance with AP and BLP.
If you get into a restaurant with a hungry stomach like we will be for democracy, you are going to have to choose between the three and the main question is who you are going to choose,” he said. Kekgonegile also said people will have to choose either UDC which he said is an undemocratic party or their coalition with the AP and BLP which he is convinced will bring about positive change and a new Botswana.
He stated that the BCP is no longer a party at crossroads and their main task is to remove the BDP from power. “If the UDC is in the way of that then we cannot help them to aid BDP to continue ruling,” he said.
Kekgonegile announced that the constituency negotiations with BLP and AP have been completed and they have agreed on who takes which. “We have completed our talks and there were no fights regarding constituencies as some reports allege,” he said. Kekgonegile pointed out that their main conflict with the UDC was on poor governance, dysfunctional constitution and lack of internal elections. “When we discussed these issues we were suspended but we couldn’t let problems unresolved,” he said.
The Maun East legislator also told Maun residents that they had created a problem by joining the UDC therefore a new Botswana coalition is the solution. For his part, BCP President who was the keynote speaker at the event revealed that people who go around saying that one opposition coalition is the solution to regime change are wrong.
He indicated that the UDC is not the solution because its leader Duma Boko is similar to BDP president Mokgweetsi Masisi. Saleshando added that opposition coalition parties which won elections in various countries in Africa also had opposing challenge from other opposition political parties. He urged the residents to vote for the new alliance with AP and BLP and forget about the narrative that the UDC is the only solution to opposition politics.
Veteran BCP politician Vain Mamela indicated that people keep asking them when the BCP is leaving the UDC. Mamela said their partnership with other parties in the UDC was nothing but an election arrangement. He said they thought they were listening to voters’ cries after the 2014 election but only to make a huge mistake.
He also indicated that they didn’t join the UDC because they were desperate and hopeless. “We have looked out for ourselves since 1998 therefore we were not desperate,” he said. Mamela further disclosed that they entered into an agreement with the UDC only for the 2019 general election therefore they don’t have a contract with the UDC in the coming general election for 2024.
He said the UDC thought their move to join the coaliton meant that the BCP could be easily bullied. “We were given 20 constituencies and we won 11, Botswana National Front was given 32 and won four while the Botswana People's Party( BPP) was given five but won nothing. Now they were here in Maun to remove Saleshando so this is politics driven by jealousy,” he said.