New coalition in disarray
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday April 17, 2023 06:00
This is despite the BCP having given away some of the key constituencies to the AP. What the BCP had thought would make the negotiations seamless, seems to have failed.
The two constituencies that the BCP are willing to give away include Mogoditshane and Gaborone Central. The AP, BLP and the BCP have formed a new coalition to contest in the upcoming 2024 General Election against a coalition parties under the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
The AP has been reportedly dodgy in attending the negotiation meetings and it is understood that it has been asking for a postponement when the meeting is left with few hours to convene.
This, however, seems not to be going well with other parties. It is not the first time that a sitting for negotiations were postponed since it happened again before the Easter holidays.
Mmegi has learnt that the AP central committee is allegedly not in agreement to continue with the new coalition. “The reason why negotiations are on deadlock is that some want the party to negotiate with the UDC. They feel it is late to continue with the new coalition. The central committee is meeting again in Tutume village this weekend to make a resolution on the matter.
This issue has even brought divisions amongst the members. There are those who want a new coalition and those who feel we should negotiate with the UDC,” the source said.
The source revealed that the AP meeting which will be held over the weekend is the one which will make a final decision on the party stand. BCP spokesperson Mpho Pheko admitted that the talks have been postponed to next week because there are crucial issues that parties must seek clarity on. “We met on Wednesday but we could not continue because there were key issues that all negotiators needed to seek clarity from their parties first. We are left with minor issues only.
The negotiation team has dealt with major issues,” she said. Pheko added the negotiation teams will meet again on Monday. For their part, the AP declined to comment. “I cannot comment on negotiation talks and what led to a postponement of the meeting. Rather, I can confirm that as the AP, we are still in talks with the BLP and BCP to find ways that we could cooperate in the 2024 General Election,” the party’s secretary-general Phenyo Butale said. Political analyst, Lesole Machacha said he is not shocked that AP is not determined to move forward with negotiations since time is no longer on their side. “It is late for a new coalition, looking at the time.
Currently, there is no constitution that is guiding them. Again, BCP is not also clear on its stand with the UDC. If at all they are serious on the coalition, why can’t they resign and focus on their move? Maybe this is another contributing factor. Again, their performance in by-elections has made AP rethink again. Maybe the start of the new coalition was wrong at the beginning,” Machacha said. He advised that if opposition parties are serious about forming a coalition, they should benchmark from Zambia.
Machacha said the AP is one of the parties that have sympathy voters and its performance might change in the coming General Election. He said the AP might want to contest alone or cooperate with other opposition parties where necessary. The political analyst said it is time the BCP also re-introspect if indeed it is willing to compromise when it comes to issues of both constituency and wards allocation because it is always fighting with other parties. He said all the parties must meet each other halfway and there should be no element of a big brother mentality. He noted that one of the things that affect opposition parties is pride amongst their leaders which ends up affecting the parties’ performance. There is impasse in some of the constituencies between the AP and the BCP in some of the constituencies.
The AP had recently requested that it should be given time in order to consult its party central committee on the latest developments. “Parties were not agreeing mostly on seven constituencies which include Lerala/Maunatlala, Mogoditshane, Gaborone North, Francistown West, Tati West, Nata/Gweta and Gaborone Central. But the key ones were Gaborone Central and Mogoditshane which were at the centre of a dispute. It was agreed that whoever takes Mogoditshane and Gaborone Central must take one more while the other one was attached to four constituencies,” a source within the committee told Mmegi. It is understood that negotiations include only 57 constituencies apart from four new ones.
Moreover, another member said the BCP had sacrificed a lot since it had done a lot of spade work at both Gaborone Central and Mogoditshane constituencies. “This is too much for BCP since it has been doing well in those two constituencies.” The source also said the reason why the BCP was awarded Gaborone Central and Mogoditshane in the 2019 General Election when it was a UDC affiliate, was because of its strength in those areas.