BCP in low-key primaries

Chakalisa Dube | Tuesday March 11, 2014 16:16

 

The BCP leadership in Francistown said it was expecting over 500 people to vote in each of the eight wards that staged council primary elections, but only a few people turned up.

More than half of the wards that held the primaries recorded less than 100 voters.

 “Although I admit that people are less enthusiastic about voting in the primaries the numbers recorded in almost all wards were disappointing.

“We had 500 individuals who registered to vote in each ward. We were expecting voters to be at least above half of those who have registered to vote in all wards,” the BCP Francistown regional leader Samuel Moribame told Mmegi yesterday. He blamed the heavy weekend downpour.  “It was even hard to track them because of the rains,” he added. The low-key activities at the primaries might also be explained by the fact that the party did not hold parliamentary primaries

“Usually council primaries attract numbers when they are held together with parliamentary primaries because of the hype usually associated with the parliamentary primaries,” he said. Meanwhile, Collet Oagile won Satellite North ward with 97 to Kagiso Koontse’s 84 votes.

At Botsalano ward Barulaganyi Mooketsi won by 138 votes against Odirile Gavu’s 94. At Moselewapula ward Reuben Kethoilwe pulled 80 votes while his competitors Chimbise Chimbise and Gilbert Makombo recorded 40 and 32 respectively.

At Itekeng ward Lebogang Mosikare piped his competitor Simon Mompati with a slight margin of one - 37 to 36 votes. Boy Gwere lost at Monarch South by 63 to Tuelo Oduetse’s 67 votes. At Phillip Matante West Dingalo Dickson Ditsheko obtained 64 against Oliver Monamati’s 57 votes while at Somerset ward Ophaketse Sebetela recorded 54 votes against, Kamogelo Tshwene’s 42.

Gift Keaitse at Ipopeng ward will represent BCP after he recorded 197 while his competitor Kebalepile Mabaila managed 73 votes. In Blue Town ward Beard Maja emerged the victor against Montgomery Nchile. Maja earned 72 while the latter earned 46 votes. The primary elections winners will represent the party at the general elections later this year.