BDP MPs rally behind Kokorwe
Oarabile Mosikare | Wednesday November 12, 2014 15:48
The ruling party caucus also nominated MP for Gaborone South, Kagiso Molatlhegi for the position of Deputy Speaker and Shashe West MP Fidelis Molao as BDP whip.
The BDP made this announcement yesterday through its Facebook page. The statement said President Ian Khama chaired the BDP caucus and all the 42 BDP MPs, who include the four Specially Elected members and Khama himself, unanimously signed the nomination forms in compliance with the recent Court of Appeal (CoA) judgment. The Facebook message said after the MPs signed the nominations forms, the BDP secretary general Mpho Balopi delivered them to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Barbra Dithapo.
The elections of Kokorwe and Molatlhegi are expected to be a mere formality after all the BDP MPs rallied behind Khama and the party decision. The opposition, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) are expected to rally behind former Speaker Dr Margaret Nasha and MP for Kanye South, Abram Kesupile as Deputy Speaker.
The UDC and BCP have 20 MPs in the National Assembly. Nasha lost favour with Khama after she published her hard-hitting book, Madam Speaker, Sir! earlier this year. In her memoirs, Nasha described Khama as an autocrat and the President did not take kindly to that. He used the floors of the special congress earlier this year to attack Nasha. Meanwhile the public is invited to Parliament this afternoon to observe the elections of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker as well as the endorsement of the Vice President.