Dow in lukewarm launch
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday April 14, 2014 15:52
Despite the presence of party heavy weight in former vice-president Mompati Merafhe the hype associated with BDP launches seemed to be missing at Dow’s. The event seemed disorganised.
The Saturday event attracted little or no interest.
While in a few wards where the motorcade passed, there were occasional chants in support of the BDP, for the most part, the response was either to ignore them or retort to shouting opposition slogans.
Even more telling for the former High Court judge is that the posters on display were of lesser known candidates.
The presence of elderly members of the party at the event could have been Dow’s only saving grace.
Also standing her in good stead could be the composition of her team of councillors, which consisted mostly of elderly people and women. Of the 12 council candidates, seven are women, something that could be attributed to her activism nature.
Despite the less impressive showing, Dow told The Monitor that she was in the race to win.
“I had been working on it for the past two years and the response I am getting is positive. I do house-to-house campaigns and people are promising,” she said. Dow was adamant that her previous spat with the Bakgatla royal house, following her withdrawal from Kgosi Kgafela Kgafela’s case two years ago, would not harm her bid to Parliament.
In fact, she is of the view that her peaceful approach to electioneering is her strength. To prove that theirs was, unlike many BDP constituencies, a peaceful one, Dow ensured her opponent in the Bulela Ditswe, Mooketsi Tosh Kgotele had a major role in the launch.
Kgotele was introducing guests; something that Dow said was not a fluke as the former Botswana Football Association boss was helping her in the campaign.