Automatic succession must be reviewed � Mothibamele
Zolani Kraai | Tuesday November 25, 2014 14:06
Speaking in an interview with Mmegi last week, Mothibamele said that he was surprised to learn that the motion that sought to do away with the automatic succession and amend the constitution was said to be from the opposition enclave in Parliament.
Mothibamele said that he was the first to push for the motion.
“I was the original mover back in the day when I was in Parliament and please note that the motion was eventually put on hold by an overwhelming majority of the caucus obviously, because some of my former fellow MPs felt it was brought at the wrong time,” said Mothibamele.
Mothibamele’s views follow the recent Parliament stand off when President Ian Khama, the BDP and the Attorney General went to court to annul the Standing Orders pertaining to the voting of the Vice President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
The applicants lost the case with costs, which allowed the Standing Orders to remain as is and voting for the Vice President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker to be done by secret ballot.
Mothibamele further said that the automatic succession system should be revisited as it is now creating problems for the BDP. “During our days in Parliament the system of secret ballot worked well for all of us as parliamentarians. I therefore want to accentuate the recent remarks by Dumelang Saleshando. Saleshando had posted in his Facebook page that, ‘the clause on secret ballot for Parliament elections was part of the Standing Orders, and it has remained so’,” Mothibamele said.
Notwithstanding, in 2005 Mothibamele made an attempt to present a motion in Parliament that sought to amend the constitution, but Parliament differed with it.
In 2008, Khama, then deputising President Festus Mogae, automatically succeeded him.
Recently some media houses published Sir Ketumile Masire’s opinion on the issue. Declared the architect of the automatic succession, Masire defended the system.
“It is a good concept that is misunderstood and abused by my successors,” Masire was quoted as saying.