Kedikilwe wins BPF Serowe West primaries
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday June 13, 2023 06:00
The election was contested by seven party members who included Chimbidzani Chimidza, Dilebo Mmaletlhare, Gaotilwe Nametsegang, James Kgalajwe, Mokgobelelo Mokgobelelo, Monamodi Bagwasi and Onalepelo Kedikilwe.
Kedikilwe won the primary election by 443 votes followed by Mmaletlhare with 229 and Mokgobelelo with 101 votes, while others had between 90 and 80 votes each. The position of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Serowe West constituency fell vacant after the area representative, Tshekedi Khama, was disqualified for having failed to attend three consecutive sittings of the National Assembly.
BPF election director, Tebogo Venson told The Monitor the elections went well although there were challenges in some other areas. He said some members were complaining that their names were not appearing on the voters' roll and there was no way they could vote. “Another disturbing issue was that some members of the Serowe West constituency committee were clearly showing their alignment in front of other members. That on its own is not ethical and our BPF constitution does not allow such.
If the constituency committee takes the side then there is a possibility for division because they are leaders and therefore they need to be careful about their acts,” Venson said. He said the other members who were contesting for in the primaries were complaining of sabotage by some constituency members who had taken sides.
The election director said at some point they were forced to call some constituency committee members to order. In addition, he said the BPF members are solid on the ground, unlike its party leadership.
Venson said the numbers on the ground show that BPF may retain the constituency if members continue to be united. He, however, said they started behind time but the turnout was good and the constituency shows positive results. The election director said there was no objection to the results from the candidates.