BPF coalition revocation receives backlash
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday April 15, 2024 06:01
Over the weekend, Reatile made an announcement that they are going to contest the upcoming general eletions using the BPF symbol and that in other areas, they will compete with the UDC under a proposed pact model.
The BPF prefers a pact model while the UDC is expected to deliberate on it on Friday.
Some members are putting pressure on the BPF president to reconsider his decision, and are making their views known through consultations in their local areas.
These consultations are intended to inform the party leadership about the opinions of its members on this matter.
At the recent leadership forum, the BPF president informed the members that he had exercised his powers to revoke the party’s affiliation with the UDC. However, the decision shocked some members of the national executive committee (NEC) who felt it was made without consulting the rest of the committee. Some members are concerned that this unilateral action could cause lasting damage to the BPF. Despite that, the BPF constitution Article 20.6.4 states that in cases of emergency, the president can take action in the interest of the party pending review by the national congress.
“Some BPF members are not happy with the decision taken by our president without consulting them. This is a crucial time for opposition parties and we did not expect this to happen. The current problems that are happening within the UDC could easily be resolved and there was no need for the party to make such a decision. Now, our members are threatening that they will go back to the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) or vote for the UDC in the coming elections. Our party will be dead if it loses Serowe. Again, it has not yet established itself well in other areas,” an insider intimated.
In other areas, the source said the members have vowed that they will not contest under the BPF symbol. However, Reatile said he is shocked that the members are making some consultations on the matter. “I wonder which provision in the constitution they are using to make such consultations. Now, it’s like they doubt me when I said I did consult our members in different constituencies to understand some of the problems they are facing and their disgruntlement. It's shocking that some of our leaders in the BPF want to claim that the problems outlined do not exist.
This is due to the fact that some of our members have dual membership, therefore, they do have interest in the UDC than the BPF,” Reatile said in an interview on Wednesday. Reatile further said he would not stop any constituency from bringing its outcome to him or before the NEC as it may help them also.
He also revealed that it is important for the concerned members to tour other areas to get the views of BPF members. Moreover, Reatile said the reason why he used an emergency clause, which gives him power to revoke certain decisions pending the final decision by the congress, is because the general elections are near and the UDC is failing to resolve pending issues before it. He said ward allocation issues are very serious since the UDC affiliates are not respecting the 60%:40% ratio. The BPF president said the 60% applies to members who are contesting the area on behalf of the UDC while 40% is for other affiliates to share. He, however, said he also does not agree that areas like Kgatleng East should be given to the Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) as it cannot win them for the UDC. He further revealed that in other areas where BPF strongly believes it stands a chance to win, other UDC affiliates do also, they would then be forced to compete against each other. “For some situations, it would depend on how we discuss this pact model with the UDC.
My worry is that the UDC seems to be reluctant when elections are nearer. As the BPF we want to start campaigning, rather than taking most of our time trying to resolve issues,” he continued. He said the reason why the party has held leadership forum meetings was to discuss all these issues and even to talk about what they believe is the best for the party. Meanwhile, political analyst Lesole Machacha said; “what is happening to the BPF is not new to Botswana opposition politics. This is an indication that we are likely going to see more independent candidates coming from these parties.
Again, the BPF must be careful that if it could lose Serowe constituencies, then it would be the end of it. It is stronger in those areas therefore, they should tread carefully because if the public could believe that they are big-headed then they might be the biggest losers in the coming polls.” Machacha also said the problems within the opposition parties are that they are failing to resolve problems around them or lack the wherewithal to deal with them internally. He said the problems with the opposition is that they like to attack each other and also take their problems to the public. As for the leaders failing to consult their members, Machacha pointed out that it is common in all opposition political parties as the presidents like to make decisions that end up backfiring on them. He also said party members also have problems of failing to respect some decisions made by their party leaders. He said unlike other parties, the BPF fights are at the leadership level and members end up being involved in issues they do not know.