BDP F/Town region want incumbents unchallenged
Chakalisa Dube | Monday August 28, 2023 06:00
Instead, the said members want the party to hold primary elections in opposition held constituencies and wards country wide. The Francistown region is one of the largest and influential ones in the BDP.
It is anticipated that the ruling party will go for its primary elections in October this year. As the norm, BDP primaries are held during the month of October, a year before the general election.
The region will hold its regional congress tomorrow in preparation for the national council which is scheduled for Palapye next week. Mmegi has since established that at the tomorrow’s conference some delegates will propose that incumbents be allowed to go unchallenged at the upcoming party primaries to book candidacy at the 2024 General Election.
If the motion is given the nod at the regional congress, it will be taken to the national conference for possible endorsement. Some members of the region have been selling the narrative that if incumbents do not go for the primaries such development would enable the party to consolidate its structures and build momentum for the next year’s general election.
There is also concern that the aftermath of the BDP primaries popularly known as Bulela-Ditswe in nature are very divisive and have often worked against the party at the general election. “The sentiment amongst some members in the region is that the party is relatively unstable. Instead of the hosting the primaries they want the party to focus on strengthening its structures and preparing for the general elections. Their position is that the party should focus on shrugging off the effects of COVID-19 which impacted negatively on its growth.
They also assume that it would be taxing to told hold the primaries countrywide given the challenges that the party has been going through in recent years,” said an insider within the Francistown region.
The other narrative sold by those not in favour of incumbents going for the primaries is that challenges posed by COVID-19 meant that sitting MPs and councillors could not fully articulate their mandate and as such they should be given a chance to redeem themselves. But the motion against holding primaries will almost likely be met by absolute resistance.
Sources have told Mmegi that not everyone is warming to the idea. Reports indicate that there is already a group of BDP activists in the region who have been working tirelessly to mobilise those who will oppose the motion at the Saturday congress.
The argument is that the move will not be democratic. Other aspiring candidates for the primaries and their supporters are of the view not holding the primaries will be more acrimonious. BDP Francistown region chairperson Baemedi Medupi would not confirm or deny that some members do not want incumbent Members of Parliament and councillors to go through the primaries. “Branches continue to submit their proposals or motions that will be discussed at the congress with a view of taking some of them to the national conference.
Motions or proposals that they submit to be discussed at the regional congress cannot be discussed with the media,” Medupi told Mmegi Wednesday afternoon. The motion to suspend primary elections failed in Gaborone recently. BDP members in the area had wanted the primaries to be suspended in favour of choosing candidates for the primaries in the five Gaborone constituencies, through a consensus. Three of the five constituencies making the Gaborone branch voted against the motion. Meanwhile, BDP secretary-general, Kavis Kario recently shot down suggestions that the party will not go for the primaries in some areas.
“That is false. One of the cornerstones of democracy that the BDP cherishes is that every bonafide member of the party should be given a fair chance to stand for elections wherever they want. In addition to that, the BDP gives all its registered members the opportunity to choose their preferred aspiring office bearers an equal chance of doing that without favouring some over others,” he said.