Floor-crossing Bill aimed at serving BDP agenda
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday December 18, 2020 13:44
FRANCISTOWN: The recent defections of Francistown-West legislator Ignatius Moswaane to the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) followed by MP for Jwaneng-Mabutsane, Mephato Reatile to the Botswana patriotic Front (BPF) have exposed the BDP as a leaking house. Reports are abound that more ‘frustrated’ legislators and councillors were contemplating exiting the BDP to the opposition en masse threby triggering the party leadership to come up with a law that will halt such defections. Perhaps, another worrying development was the continued defections of civic leaders from the ruling party to the BPF mainly in the Central District. This is still ongoing and the BDP could not watch helplessly as its elected members continued to troop out of the stable at that worrying level.
Minister of Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Kabo Morwaeng recently explained that the Constitution Amendment Bill sought to cause a vacancy in the event an elected legislator, elected as a candidate for a political party, resigned from an organisation. He said the Bill also proposed that a vacancy be declared in the event an MP elected as independent candidate tries to join a political party of his choice. The position of the Minister was that the Bill came as a result of the adoption of former MP Gladys Kokorwe’s motion, which was tabled during the seventh Parliament with proposed constitutional amendments.
University of Botswana (UB) administrative and political studies lecturer, Adam Mfundisi says the floor-crossing Bill has been rushed through the Parliamentary processes for reasons best known to the BDP leadership.
“We can only speculate on the motivations which precipitated the BDP to urgently present and pass the law. From history, the BDP when faced with existential threats it opts for piece meal constitutional amendments to further its own interests or the interests of its leadership,” posited the UB lecturer.
He quickly reminisced about the automatic succession Act, Introduction of Electronic Voting System, Increase in the number of Special Elected MPS and the recent introduction of the State of Emergency as cases in point for the BDP to extend its longevity..
The emergency and performance of the BPF, he said, has sent shock waves within the BDP and the leadership fears exodus of its MPs and councillors to either BPF or UDC.
He also felt that there is a lot of instability within the BDP ranks and the leadership has failed the party and therefore, the rank and file is up in arms and MPs fear of revolt that some would like to jump the ship before calamities.
To him, the Bill is an attempt to discourage democracy within the BDP structures and encourage dictatorial leadership.
Mfundisi is adamant that the Masisi regime is panicking and therefore, as per the culture of the party, the Constitution is its salvation in the fight for survival. He accused the BDP of a tendency to disrespect the sacred document.
“The electorate expected the regime to institute a comprehensive Constitutional Review, not a piece meal reformation which has no significant impact on the socio-economic and political situation facing our country,” he said an added: “COVID-19, poverty, unemployment, inequality, criminality, etc. should be priority areas in addition to the Constitutional Review.”
He insists that there are credible indications that the BDP is in dire straits because of its unfulfilled promises and allegations of voter fraud in the 2019 general elections. He sees the BPF as a serious threat to the BDP and its recent romance with other opposition parties presents a credible threat to the moribund BDP. “And, political narcissism which the current BDP leadership promotes goes against the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individuals. The freedom of speech and expression is under attack by this regime,” he lashed out at the BDP leadership. The BDP in the past enjoyed the monopoly of defectors both at Parliament and Council levels and rejected proposals to introduce the same in the 1980s. Then, it was not under threat and now the tables have been turned, it resorts to Constitutional amendments to safeguard the party and its weak leadership.
Since its inception, the BDP has assaulted the Constitution whenever it is under threat and its leadership is unable to deal with internal and external challenges facing the party. “I have alluded to some amendments that were promulgated to protect the BDP and its leadership. This is an overt and covert attempt to subvert MPS to vote with their conscience contrary to the Constitution of Botswana,” the political scientist declared worriedly.
He described the floor-crossing law as an assault on democracy, which has been under severe strain for the last two decades. The recent general elections have shown that our democracy is a myth rather than a reality. Loyalty of representatives of the people is shifted from voters to political parties and their leadership. Our democracy is anchored on Constitutionalism and Parliamentary democracy. Our electoral system, First Past The Post (FPTP) does not support the introduction of this legislation., he explained. Legislators and civic leaders now owe their allegiance to the party not voters.
Mfundisi says Constitutional Review should have been done first and this piece of legislation negotiated within that process. Proportional Representation according to the UB academic is the proper electoral process to usher in this legislation. He further observes that the right of dissent is dealt a blow by this legislation.
His arguments are further premised on the reality that by-elections are costly to the participants and parties except the BDP, which uses state resources and functionaries for political campaigns. Local newspaper columnist and political commentator, Adam Phetlhe recently wrote that BDP arguments motivating the floor-crossing Bill are as flat as a deflated tyre. He noted that, “ the stability issue as used as a rallying point by the President Mokgweetsi Masisi and his party is self-serving to achieve a political goal. Nothing suggests remotely or otherwise that the BDP is threatened by the collapse of its majority in parliament.
Even if it were so, relevant Constitutional remedies would be set in motion to constitute a new parliament.” He added in his column published in The Patriot on Sunday that if the BDP majority collapsed, the sky wouldn’t come crumbling on Botswana. He said the BDP is a political party like others and should take responsibility of ensuring that it keeps its house in order. He was worried that there was no credible information that Batswana were consulted through a credible process whose results comprehensively endorsed the stopping of floor crossing.
“It is disingenuous of the BDP to suggest the consultation of Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi on the amendment represents the overall views of Batswana. Like one MP said, there is no evidence that Chiefs have engaged their subjects and what the outcomes are,” he added. He sees no urgency in passing the Bill at the speed of light as the BDP frantically desires that to be the case.
But UB senior lecturer in politics, Dr. Kebapetse Lotshwao said whether the timing is wrong or not, the law on floor crossing is long overdue. He posited that since independence, “there has been no mechanism in place to hold elected representatives accountable in-between elections, and elected representatives have taken advantage of this vacuum, moving at will between parties without reference to voters.”
The law, he says, will therefore, “strengthen the accountability of elected representative in-between elections. In other words, the elected representatives will no longer be accountable to themselves as has been the case, but instead to the voter, who is the principal.”
The political scientist doesn’t see anything wrong with the law, as elected representatives will still enjoy freedom of association. “ But, unlike in the past, the voter, as the principal, will be involved. As for costs, democracy is an expensive exercise already, and is funded by the voter. As such, the cost implication of by- elections is not avoidable in a democracy,” surmised Lotshwao.