I withdrew from the race � Ngwakwena
Chakalisa Dube | Tuesday July 7, 2015 15:56
This is contrary to the suggestion that Ngwakwena was snubbed by delegates who did not even nominate him to contest for the elections.
During the elections there was also no indication that Ngwakwena had withdrawn from the elections.
Before his alleged withdrawal Ngwakwena was the challenger against Gaotlhaetse Matlhabaphiri and Botsalo Ntuane, who emerged the winner.
Ngwakwena’s suspected snub by the delegates raised eyebrows as he was considered one of the hard working party operatives.
Lack of nomination from the floor also raised eyebrows because Ngwakwena had been heavily campaigning for the influential position in the weeks leading up to the elections.
Contacted for comment yesterday Ngwakwena said that he decided to pull out of the race at the 11th hour.
“Reasons for my withdrawal are personal. I treat them as an internal party matter. I am happy with how everything went at the congress. I even congratulated Ntuane whole- heartedly,” he said, adding that he will support the newly elected central committee.
Reached for clarity, BDP electoral board chairman, Parks Tafa said yesterday that he is not sure whether Ngwakwena withdrew from the election race or not.
“All I know is that I received two names for the position of SG at the elections. For a member to contest for central committee he has to be nominated and seconded by delegates from the floor. “With the case of the secretary general, only Ntuane and Matlhabaphiri were endorsed by the delegates. I am not sure about what happened to Ngwakwena. You can check with him to clarify,” said Tafa.
At the congress some members of the BDP accused Tafa of decampaigning some election candidates.
When candidates were nominated from the floor Tafa appeared to question some of their credentials and allegiance to the party.
Other candidates could be overheard airing their displeasure towards Tafa’s remarks.
However, the electoral board chairperson said that he was merely joking, adding that he apologised to those who may not have taken kindly to his remarks.
Ngwakwena however did want to further discuss his withdrawal. Ngwakwena also shot down talk that he is considering toning down on his party activism.
“ I remain a die hard BDP member. I have been in the party for over 30 years and will remain an activist,” he said.