Will Dow make it?
Lerato Maleke | Wednesday April 23, 2014 11:06
Dow won the BDP primary elections last year against former Botswana Football Association (BFA) chief executive officer, Tosh Kgotlele. The former judge said they have since made peace with her opponent and she will easily win in the general elections later this year.
But if her launch by former vice president, Mompati Merafhe is anything to go by, she has a major battle on her hands.
BDP supporters in Mochudi have said most people who attended the launch were not from the area. A Mahalapye West choir accompanied Merafhe, who was the guest speaker. Ngwaketse MP, Mephato Reatile, also came with his choir.
Perhaps sensing trouble because of the poor attendance, Merafhe cautioned Dow about the elections. “Although Dow is a strong woman and well-known in political circles, she should campaign hard,” he said.
The retired vice president appealed to BDP members in Kgatleng to work hard and win the constituency they took from James Pilane of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) in 1999.
Apparently, a majority of Bakgatla have lost interest in the BDP after the bogosi dispute with the government. They have declared in public that they will punish the ruling party in the coming general elections because of the royal impasse.
Deputy paramount chief, Bana Sekai Linchwe is on record advising his subjects that they should vote out the BDP. Fresh in the minds of the Bakgatla is that Dow abandoned the defence team of paramount chief, Kgafela Kgafela in his court cases.
It seems Bakgatla who are sympathetic to Kgafela want to punish Dow for this. However, some feel that voting is secret and that Dow may win because of her record.
The former judge sees herself as a formidable candidate who will wrestle the seat from the incumbent MP, Gilbert Mangole of the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD). She told the gathering at her launch that Mangole is a walkover and he should be punished for running away with the BDP seat.
Mangole is a former member of the BDP who defected to the BMD as a founding member a few years ago. “What we should do in the next general elections is to show Mangole that he jumped over the fence with our seat and therefore, we must make sure that we take it back,” Dow said.
Her opponent, Mangole has the sympathy of the tribe as he never misses Kgotla meetings called by Sekai. He has publicly declared his support for Kgafela.