Saleshando challenges Masisi to man up
Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday January 16, 2024 06:00
In a correspondence dated November 20, 2023, Saleshando called on Masisi to prioritise a meeting of all political parties to discuss pressing issues around Botswana's electoral process.
Last week, the BCP leader told a press conference organised by his party that his plea was rejected by Masisi under the pretext that there was an ongoing court case revolving around the 2024 General Election.
The UDC had taken the IEC to court seeking an order directing that the opposition coalition be allowed to observe and monitor the process of voter registration.
The case was finally settled in favour of the IEC by the Court of Appeal which ruled that the UDC had no justifiable right conferred on it to observe and monitor registration of voters. Saleshando said now that the case has been settled to finality, it would be in order for the President to reconsider his position regarding the All-Party Conference in order to allow the political leadership of all parties to reflect on various challenges around Botswana's elections, as well as take steps to ensure that a free, fair and credible election is delivered in 2024.
The BCP leader observed that there was a clear misdirection by President Masisi about the contents of the letter he wrote to him, adding that after further reflection the BCP leadership has decided to send another letter to the president. “We want this traditional conference to be held and the observation is that it is slowly fading away. It is this same All-Party Conference which in the past led to many visible changes such as reduction of the voting age. Letting people in the Diaspora to register and vote is an idea which was coined at the conference,” Saleshando observed.
“We expect a better response this time around now that that registration case is over,” Saleshando said, adding that the BCP was focused not only on voter registration but on a whole spectrum of electoral issues. “If you look at past reports from international election observers, there are a lot of shortcomings around our elections starting with the IEC itself which lacks independence." The Maun West legislator accused President Masisi of failure to leave up to his 2018 promise of convening regular meetings of the All-Party Conference.