BNF elections board members resign
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday June 1, 2026 06:00
This comes hard on the heels of the BNF secretary-general, Dr Stephen Modise, writing a letter postponing the regional elective congress on the day of the elections, when the members were already gathered and ready to cast their votes. In his letter, Modise said, “I write to formally communicate the postponement of the Pretty Molefe elective regional congress, which was scheduled to take place today. The CC shall communicate a new date for the elective regional congress in due course”. The letter further states that the constituency chairperson should take note of the development and ensure that all relevant stakeholders and delegates are duly informed accordingly.
However, this did not go down well with the NEB, which felt it was being undermined by the party leadership. Mmegi has also learnt that the NEB feels there is interference from some party leadership whenever it conducts elections, especially regional ones. “The problem is that some party leaderships are still holding onto teams that existed during the Palapye congress and want to favour certain members so that they win elections. To us, those teams were dissolved long ago, after CC was announced and had won. Some of the members who supported certain party members in the leadership tend to try to put pressure on those members so that elections are run in their way, contrary to the party constitution,” the source within old NEB said.
The source said the old NEB felt that the party constitution must be followed at all times and that they would not be part of anything that undermined it. In their resignation letter dated May 25, 2026, and addressed to the party secretary general, the board members cited alleged interference and dissatisfaction with the postponement of the regional elective congress that was scheduled for May 23.
The resigning members said they would remain ordinary members of the party despite stepping down from the elections structure. According to the letter, the NEB was tasked only with preparing for the congress on May 19, leaving the team under what they described as “extreme pressure” to organise the elections in a short period.
However, despite completing preparations, the congress was abruptly postponed through a letter issued on the very day delegates had gathered for the event. The outgoing board members argued that there was no justifiable reason to postpone the congress, maintaining that all constituencies in the region had already submitted delegates and that the election materials were ready.
“Delegates had already convened at the congress venue, and it was peaceful and comradely,” reads part of the letter. The resignation also exposed internal disagreements over the eligibility of delegates from the Mmopane-Metsimotlhabe constituency. The NEB said it had resolved to allow the constituency delegates to vote because they were selected through properly convened ward general membership meetings. However, this position reportedly clashed with that of the regional committee, which had disqualified the delegates after the constituency congress was allegedly aborted due to irregularities.
The resigning members further complained about what they viewed as interference in the electoral process. “We had hoped that once we are seized with the electoral process, we would be allowed to run the processes without interference since there are appellate structures within the party for those aggrieved with the outcome,” the letter stated.
The development is likely to intensify tensions within the opposition movement as factions continue to battle for influence ahead of future internal contests. Despite their frustrations, the outgoing members thanked the party leadership and president for entrusting them with the responsibility of serving on the elections board. “We remain comrades and shall continue to support the party through other means,” they wrote.