DK's stature diminishing?
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Wednesday December 4, 2013 17:37
Kwelagobe, who has long been BDP Secretary General and became a Member of Parliament at the age of 26 in 1969, says his power base is still strong while his loyalty has not been affected anyhow.
Popularly known as “DK,” Kwelagobe says over 2,000 of his supporters did not vote over the weekend because some of their names did not appear on the voters roll while others did not have membership cards after they failed to arrive from Tsholetsa House.
DK's constituency has over 10,000 voters He says issues of the voters roll and failure to deliver people's membership cards are very serious because they can hurt the party during general elections.'I believe at times it was a genuine mistake, while sometimes it looked like those mistakes were manmade,” he told Mmegi yesterday. “Some people might not forgive the party because they were denied the chance to vote for their favourite candidates.”
He says he spent P90,000.00 on renewal of membership cards and was surprised when only 2,982 voted.
DK told Mmegi that it is important that the Bulela-Ditswe system is because people are not happy with it as it is at present. He said if the system is not revamped, some disgruntled members who feel disadvantaged by it may defect or fail to vote for the BDP.
The BDP has learnt a lesson from the system, he said, and urged its reform. 'BDP members should stop accusing one another or the leadership instead of discussing issues at the right forums,' he noted.
Political analyst Professor Zibani Maudeni said DK's power base could not be judged on the results of the primary elections. Maundeni asserted that BDP members had been complaining of irregularities that led to many protests.