Election year with umpteen election issues
Michael Dingake | Tuesday January 14, 2014 16:33
Those in power may adopt the style of Msholozi down South to say, 'detractors (read opposition) shall be ruled whether they like it or not' and the opposition in all its hues may promise Juju-style they are not going into elections to remain in opposition but to be the next government. All this is the stuff all general elections are made of. 46 years in power the Dom party is confident it will sweep the boards and wipe out the opposition from Parliament and they swear Botswana will still retain its quality as shining example of multiparty democracy!
General elections begin with registration of voters. Unregistered voters don't count, they are as good as non-existent! For this reason the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) promised last year to register no less than 1,2 million voters of the two million population. A squeaky mouse in place of a trumpeting elephant was born out of the first registration exercise - less than 400,000 voters registered! Bucketful of excuses were given by the never-say-die IEC for missing the target! IEC believes the target is still in sight and achievable with the supplementary registration end of February. We will wait. Optimism makes the clock of life to go on ticking!
The IEC and the political parties however are obliged to keep trying. All the role players have a duty to lift the voters' morale from the doldrums of dejection and despondency. Voters might start believing they are cursed to be ruled in perpetuity by Domkrag even when the party proves to be the monarch of blunder and failure. The recent Buleladitswe/Primary Elections upheaval in the BDP implies to a large extent that the party is undergoing some inner exploitable turbulence with potential for regime change. Whether one thinks the irregularities alluded to in the primaries fiasco were orchestrated by malicious party elements (office staff) with an axe to grind against the biggies or as is more likely by the voting BDP membership who have begun to see some of these lot as deadwood, one thing is clear, Batswana seem to have come of age and are beginning to distinguish between politicians in theory and politicians in practice. If Batswana have matured within the scope of primaries, they must be a short step in maturing to distinguish between parties; we must fasten our seat belts for a breathtaking takeoff!
A number of issues stick out as we are about to take off: groups who swear not to vote because they have some grievances against the government, mekoko/independent candidates and whether Domkrag will accept the results of the elections if defeated. Let us deal with these one by one: Groups who swear not to cast their votes because of grievances: We have heard this from aggrieved eligible voters, before. A very strange attitude which more than anything informs us that many voters don't know why they are expected to vote every five years. Political parties particularly the ruling party, apparently play tricks on the minds of the voters. Since Domkrag is the only party with resources to reach Batswana in the four corners of the country, through its monopoly of the state media (Daily news, Radio Botswana and Botswana Television) it is in an unenviable privileged position to explain and teach Batswana why they need to vote. The party doesn't do as expected, since a benighted electorate serves its partisan interest. The opposition parties become guilty because they haven't fought hard enough for public party funding and transforming the state media to public media status; to some extent they take for granted that all eligible voters know why they are expected to go to the polls every five years! To have some Letlhakeng West constituency villagers and then the harassed Gaborone and Francistown street vendors vowing not to cast their votes in October because of broken promises or harassment, is a serious indictment on political parties. Batswana have been taken for granted for too long. They need to be taught there is no neutrality in good politics that seeks to serve public interest and bad politics which seeks to serve party interest! An abstention vote' is equivalent to a Yes-vote for the incumbent party, its broken promises and harassment! Batswana disgruntled with the party in power, Must vote but vote for another party Not the villainous party! Vote, Batswana must, to express gumption to stand for their interests. Anybody who doesn't vote affirms the ruling party; let that be clear!
Mekoko: Independent candidates don't serve the public interest but self interest. Mekoko have no capacity to form government and for that reason, they mustn't be encouraged by support from the public; only political parties can serve the public interest by forming a government capable of catering for public interest. Moreover, Mekoko though at times wronged, are in most cases wrong as they reflect petulant indiscipline. Political parties have rules and regulations for the running of primaries; aggrieved candidates must invoke the party regulations to address whatever grievances they may have; by so doing inner party democracy and democracy generally will be enhanced.
Finally, watching BDP's reaction when confronted by awkward situation, for example the Francistown West Constituency bye-election (IEC and court) verdicts, it is clear Domkrag won't hesitate to abuse its executive muscle and wiliness to manipulate things its way, regardless of repercussions. Can anybody guarantee Domkrag magnanimity in defeat? Can it let go the reins of power?