BPF readies for Serowe West by-election
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday June 19, 2023 06:00
The primary elections were contested by seven party members which included Chimbidzani Chimidza, Dilebo Mmaletlhare, Gaotilwe Nametsegang, James Kgalajwe, Mokgobelelo Mokgobelelo, Monamodi Bagwasi and Onalepelo Kedikilwe. The primary elections were won by Kedikilwe via 443 votes, followed by Mmaletlhare with 229 votes and Mokgobelelo with 101 votes while others had 90-80 votes.
The position of the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Serowe West constituency fell vacant after the area MP Tshekedi Khama was disqualified for having failed to attend three consecutive National Assembly meetings.
Usually, the primaries for by-elections hardly draw good numbers. But in this case, despite the wrangling within the BPF, members turned up in large numbers. In an interview with the BPF director of elections, Tebogo Venson recently, he said: “We are doing everything within our power to retain this constituency.
Our differences are not going to disturb us from what we are intending to achieve and we will be working together with other opposition parties that do support us.
Our primaries were well attended and some people could not vote because they were not on the voter's roll. The turnout also shows that members have confidence in this party.” The BPF's director of elections said he has no doubts that they would win the area with a big margin when they look at the numbers and support they are getting from Serowe West residents.
He said Members of Parliament (MPs) for the neighbouring constituencies have deployed party members from their areas to help with campaigns. Venson said they are left with a few weeks before the elections, therefore, they would do everything to ensure that they cover the entire area. He added: “This constituency is wide and we have to make sure that our members cover all the wards through house-to-house campaigns. If a party cannot cover all the wards, it can possibly lose.” In addition, Venson said Kedikilwe has worked closely with the former MP for the area (Khama), which is one of their advantages as he knows the area well.
He said their candidate is not new in the area and he has been working with Serowe residents on different assignments apart from politics and he is well known in the village. On other issues, he said some BPF members who were contesting for primary elections are also helping the party and so far no one has objected the results. Recently the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa said there are only two scenarios that could emerge. He said they will either contest under the UDC or the BPF banner. This will depend on whether BPF membership of the UDC is formalised by the time of nomination.
Otherwise, he vowed that they will work with the BPF and there is no way they can contest against each other. The BPF will also be riding on Khama’s support since the constituency is also known as 'Kgosing' area. Mmegi has learnt that Kedikilwe has a blessing from the Khama family and he was one of those that they had wanted to endorse once Tshekedi fails to contest.
All political parties wishing to contest Serowe West constituency by-election were expected to submit names of their preferred candidates yesterday. In the 2019 General Election, the BPF had garnered 4,394 (Khama); the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) – 2,405 (Moemedi Dijeng), the UDC - 749 (Roland Kambula), the Alliance for Progressives (AP) - 387 (Leremela Bogosing) and there were 256 spoiled votes.