Has BCP really won GCC poster war?
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday September 12, 2014 15:24
Last week’s out of court settlement, with the council agreeing to pay BCP P13 000, is a refund for costs incurred in the urgent application in which GCC lost. The deal is that the BCP has to remove the posters at traffic lights and withdraw their counter-sue against the council.
This week’s decision arose from a four months battle, which started when the GCC officials took a dramatic decision to ban political posters last May. The BCP had always maintained that they council based its action on the poor understanding Road Traffic Act Cap 69. It all started on May 31, when the GCC ordered political parties to remove their campaign posters from streetlights in the city, giving the BCP, on the eve of their manifesto launch, sleepless nights.
For the BCP, Gaborone’s five constituencies had become an area of the growth for the party, as well as being the hotbed of support for its president Dumelang Saleshando who had been Gaborone Central legislator since 2004.
Up until now, the party had a Member of Parliament and only seven councillors in Gaborone. The party was covering Gaborone with posters, as the target was to win all five constituencies - Bonnington North, Bonnington South, Gaborone South, Gaborone Central and Gaborone North.
The BCP was distracted for four months from its campaigns do court battle with the city bosses. The running case was before the High Court, and in the meantime the GCC was also removing posters from the street poles. To stop the city council “sabotage”, the opposition party counter sued in August.
GCC had instructed BCP chairperson, Motsei Rapelana to remove her posters along Kgalema T. Motsete/airport road and Kgalema T. Motsete/Sebele fire station intersections traffic signals poles. The same instruction was issued to Saleshando to remove his campaign material along Chuma and Segoditshane street poles.
As hostilities grew between the parties, BCP stated that they believed the removal of posters was politically motivated. The party presidential spokesperson Martin Dingake was quoted saying, “The party channeled a lot of resources into defending this action, which would otherwise have been used to prepare for the 24th October 2014 general elections. On the eve of its manifesto launch the party was slapped with an urgent application. This meant that the leadership shifted its focus from mobilising and working on the logistics for the launch, to readying themselves to appearing in court”.
After the last week settlement BCP agreed to withdraw its case, and remove the posters on traffic light poles.
Dingake said the case has greatly affected the party – both in campaigns, and its image, as it was portrayed as a party that has no respect for council guidelines. He argued that there were other political parties that had placed posters or campaign materials on street poles and traffic lights, but there was no court action.
“GCC was on record that President Khama of the BDP could place his political posters and/adverts anywhere because he was a Presidential candidate irrespective of whether or not they constituted a traffic hazard. They later changed to say he was immune from civil suit. The fact of the matter is that both Saleshando and Khama are presidential candidates who must be treated equally and fairly. In an electoral contest there can be no justifiable basis for the differential treatment.”