BCP primary election losers have two days to appeal – Mamela
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday October 16, 2023 06:00
So far, two days into the deadline, only four council candidates losers have approached the party, which held its primary elections for nine constituencies. The BCP elections national director, Vain Mamela told Mmegi that those who want to appeal the results have two days to do so. “According to the reports that I have received, things went well during the elections except in areas where they had minor obstacles. However, those who were in charge of those areas managed to resolve some of the challenges they encountered. Some of the worries raised by the appellants relate to the names of their members which were not on the voters' roll.
Their contention is that those names were there before but candidates believe that their members were denied the right to vote,” he said in an interview on Wednesday. Mamela added that two council aspirants in Tutume had lodged appeals and two others from Okavango West constituency. He explained that once filed, all appeals will be taken to the elections appeals board for resolution. Meanwhile, the BCP spokesperson Mpho Pheko said the party's central committee had decided to divide the primary elections into two phases focusing on constituencies allocated to the party. “This phased approach was done to accommodate the party’s strategic partners. Candidates from the remaining constituencies, mainly our strategic partners, will be determined in phase two of our primary elections,” she said. Through a party statement Pheko admitted that in some wards, some members could not vote as polling stations opened later than it was expected. She apologised to those who could not vote. The party spokesperson also said some could not vote because of the new delimitation exercise, which resulted in relocations of some people to different wards and or polling stations. She said despite the logistical challenges, they appreciate all members who came in large numbers to choose their preferred representatives for the 2024 General Election.
Unlike other party primary elections, the weekend ones, which under normal circumstances would have attracted far fewer votes for the candidates shocked many as some got over 2,000 votes. Only the Kgatleng Central constituency, winner got less than 1,000 votes while the rest of the winners got over 1,000 and 2,000 votes. The nine constituencies that went for primary elections are Okavango West, Nkange, Palapye, Okavango East, Kgatleng Central, Selebi-Phikwe West, Gamalete, Selebi-Phikwe East and Ngami.