UDC retains Lobatse ward
Oarabile Mosikare | Monday October 5, 2015 11:33
The UDC retained Boswelatlou, traditionally the ruling party’s stronghold, which it lost in last October’s general elections to the UDC by just two votes.
UDC’s Themba Stimela won the ward by 183 votes beating the ruling party candidate, Zubeida Raphael, who managed only 165 votes.
There were only two spoilt votes.
After he was declared the winner, Stimela said he would advocate for development in the ward.
“This is one of the poorest wards in the constituency. It has been in the hands of the ruling party since independence. We have to improve road network in the ward,” he said.
Raphael could not be reached for comment after the announcement of the results.
Raphael is a former councillor for Boswelatlou ward. She was a councillor for 10 years since 2004 until 2014. She lost at the 2014 general elections with only two votes against UDC councillor, Kabelo Sebako, who recently quit due to work commitments.
The UDC’s victory comes against the background of the Botswana Congress Party’s decision not to field a candidate in this ward.
Although the two parties are yet to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) for by-elections, activists from both movements campaigned side-by-side.
Unlike the previous by-elections, this particular one was a low-key affair lacking the usual excitement that elections are associated with.