The deafening silence of pressure groups on the 2024 polls
Lewanika Timothy | Monday March 4, 2024 06:00
Reminiscing over the 2014 election, pressure groups were seething with anger, fuming and livid with the frustration of their unmet needs under former President Ian Khama’s regime. Trade unions in particular were gatvol with Khama, following the industrial strike of 2011, they were hell-bent at punishing Khama and the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) at the 2014 polls.
So loathsome were the hearts of civil society, labour unions and other pressure groups who felt unseen and undermined by those at the helm of power. The request of the unions to their members was for them to deny the BDP votes in the elections. Ten years later, the once so loud revelers are now quiet as a heart that beats no more, their position unclear despite elections coming up later this year.
Pressure groups by definition are special interest groups which seek to influence government policy and actions. Such groups do not seek government control or responsibility for policy, and their political function is not officially recognized. Interest groups, acting as pressure groups, have become increasingly important as a means by which individuals can attempt to influence governments regarding their particular requirements. Although individuals within a representative democracy possess rights, allowing them to lobby parliamentarians and governments concerning pertinent issues, a collective approach can often exert more powerful pressure on decision makers, as well as consolidating a range of similar ideas and opinions into a cohesive format. Democracies like fine wine are expected to get better as they mature, those lettered in politics refer to this process as consolidation. Botswana’s democracy has been on a steady decline with consolidation efforts reaching a plateau in the past decade and political indicators of development experiencing constant inertia.
One of the core indicators of a well consolidated democracy is mass participation and ability of pressure groups to sway government decisions.
In democratic jurisdictions like the United Kingdom people align more with pressure groups than with political parties which drawn their policy choices from the expressed needs of pressure groups. In such a setting democratic decisions mirror the needs of the polity who elect government.
In other democratic setting such as the United States of America pressure groups such as gun associations are sensitive groupings that have the ability to spoil election victory for certain political parties.
When political parties curate electoral promises or manifestos they ensure not to upset the opinions of different pressure groups with fear of losing public support.
In Botswana, where democracy is popularly accepted but poorly practised, pressure groups have the numbers to sway ballot decisions but are often times disfranchised and disorganized to act on behalf of their interest groupings.
Trade Unions have been trying to be torch bearers when it comes to interest group advocacy with government having received lashes in the past decades over salary increments and general working conditions.
One of such, with an estimated membership of affiliates standing at around 100, 000, the Botswana Federation of Public, Private and Parastatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) has been known for its militant approach to labour policy issues and has had a series of tussles with government over labor issues in the country
BOFEPUSU secretary-general Tobokani Rari explained to Mmegi in an interview this week that going into the 2024 elections they will not hand out votes to political parties on a silver platter. Rari indicated that they have a list of top policy choices they want to meet and considered by any political party that is seeking their support at the polls.
“If a political party will not be able to adopt what we feel is progressive, we will appeal to our members to punish such a party. We will rally our members to punish such a party and this will not only apply to the BDP” he said.
Despite this clear sink or swim disposition relayed by Rari, it is clear on ground that trade unions voice are not as aloud as back then in 2014. Some analysts suggest that the BDP under President Mokgweetsi Masisi has been considerate to labour force of the country with a series of salary increments though there are tough economic conditions.
This small salary increments have eaten into the bargaining power of unions limiting their ability to influence and rally members to be aggrieved at the BDP.
Trade unions are not the only pressure groups in the political scenery. Other pressure groups include special interest groups such as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and others (LGBTQI). The
LGBTQI+ community has been up in arms against segregatory laws that impeded same sex relations till LEGABIBO, a human rights advocacy group which won a landmark case in 2021 after the apex court upheld a High Court decision on decriminalized consensual sex between same-sex partners.
The LEGABIBO movement was starting to be a thorn to government because of the power they broker in international platforms. Due to progressive liberalism that has been adopted by leading democracies such as the US, it has become obvious that all countries that claim to be democracies should follow suit.
Despite the landmark victory at the apex court, LEGABIBO victory came into conflict with another pivotal pressure group known as the church.
The church is a Christian sect which seeks to maintain Christian authority in all national affairs.
The Minister of Justice Machana Shamukuni announced in Parliament that he has deferred the Panel Code Amendment Bill No.29 of 2022 to allow for a rigorous examination of the constitutional issues raised with his ministry regarding the bill before it could be debated in Parliament.
Last year members of the Evangelical Fellowship Botswana (EFB) made public demonstrations and marched against decriminalising same-sex relations and their efforts paid dividends when the bill was deferred due to fear of snubbing by Christians in this elections.
Despite progressive action on issues of special interest, pressure groups engagement in politics and forthcoming in policy issues they would like to be addressed by political parties remains low. In the US, townhall meetings are premier meeting places for pressure groups to meet different political parties expressing their conditions of support.
Thus far, one would expect that by now progressive meetings between Non Governmental Organisations, green movements, special interest groupings and different political parties would be heightened with manifestos being informed by the desires of these groupings. Albeit that is not the case.