How 2015 shaped the political landscape
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday December 18, 2015 15:13
The by-elections were in the five wards of Boswelatlou, Goodhope, Ngware, Moshupa West, Bokone ward and Goodhope/Mabule constituency.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) won four while the Botswana Congress Party got two. The BDP suffered humiliation after its candidate who is also the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Eric Molale lost the Goodhope/Mabule by-election.
BDP
The BDP youth wing ushered in a National Youth Executive Committee (NYEC), the Women’s Wing this year and new party central committee. The BDP youth elections made headlines after it was discovered that a foreigner had contested for the youth presidency without the knowledge of the party. Jerry Chitube was questioned and deported.
The troubled BDP also held a congress in Mmadinare and a special congress again in Gaborone where it introduced the controversial Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) in which the government intends to spend over P10 billion. The BDP has been rocked by defections of some of its councillors to the opposition.
BCP
Although BCP has been a stable party for a long time, this year things turned nasty after their congress that was held in Kanye. For the first time, it lost members to the ruling party. The BCP lost some of its key members like Lotty Manyapedza, Tom Kemiso, Thato Osupile, amongst others.
This nearly brought a panic to some party members especially to those who supported Manyapedza’s team called Ditimamolelo. The BCP is now enjoying stability after the new central committee announced that the party has taken decision to cooperate with the UDC in the 2019 elections.
BMD
The Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), which is an affiliate of the UDC, has also been on shaky ground due to a clash of views, particularly on the elections for the youth league and the re-admission of Advocate Sidney Pilane into the party.
The BMD faced a mother of all crises after the party congress held in Gantsi where some party members secretly recruited the former party chairperson, Pilane. This brought confusion and division among party members. That alone made the BMD president Ndaba Gaolathe, vice president Wynter Mmolotsi and party secretary general Gilbert Mangole to differ openly over Pilane’s membership. Gaolathe maintained that Pilane’s membership will be decided at their 2017 party congress.
UDC
The UDC also had to grapple with challenges at the beginning of the year when former Member of Parliament for Goodhope/Mabule, James Mathokgwane, resigned his position stating personal reasons. He later joined Selebi-Phikwe Economic Diversification Unit (SPEDU), a government department. This nearly caused a dent to the image of the party, but the bye-election proved otherwise.
Two councillors, one for Bokone ward, Molefe Mosothwane resigned after his employer, University of Botswana, gave him ultimatum to choose between work and politics. Another councillor for Boswelatlou ward, Kabelo Sebako resigned from active politics after his employer also told him to choose between work and politics. However Sebako who is an accountant opted for the job.