Boatile denies puppet master�s bidding charges
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday February 26, 2016 17:09
During the party’s inaugural national youth council at Mosu a fortnight ago, Boatile reportedly raised a motion that would ultimately be rejected outright. The motion solicited the BDP youth to support the bid to hold presidential elections early next year.
This was a motion that was earlier reported to be the brainchild of the controversial Gaborone region youth who were delegates to the youth council. Boatile has denied charges of scheming and counter lobbying for Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
From the other side of the BDP youth factional divide, the motion was “self-serving” as Boatile wanted to appease some leaders, including Masisi.
Masisi’s ascendance to the party and state presidency has lately been hit by controversy as some party operatives have since declared interest in challenging his bid to rise to the highest office in the land through an automatic succession.
This has prompted Masisi who enjoys incumbency to do everything possible, including soliciting support from all party organs.
Six people have shown interest in challenging Masisi. There is a possibility the list will soar as people continue to sample their chances in the race. Possible challengers include Boyce Sebetlela, Tebelelo Seretse, Robert Masitara, Jacob Nkate and Nonofo Molefhi.
“The party constitution does allow such a contestation. Our democratic credentials are what they are because of our constitution and relentless pursuit to follow it,” said Thapelo Pabalinga, the party’s chairman for communications and international relations sub committee in a recent interview.
Reports suggests that at the recent youth council, Boatile was only used as a pawn on a political chessboard to advance the interests of some party elders to test the waters and see, if the youth would declare their undying support for Masisi by endorsing early presidential elections. Unfortunately, Masisi emerged with egg on his face.
An early presidential race, say next year, would work well for Masisi who still carries the Mmadinare elective congress clout where he convincingly defeated some of the BDP bigwigs in the chairmanship race. Those defeated include former Botswana ambassador to the United States of America Tebelelo Seretse (219 votes), former cabinet minister Ramadeluka Seretse (57 votes), businessman Moemedi Dijeng (69) and Biggie Butale (23). Masisi garnered 582 votes.
There is fear that delaying the presidential race may work against Masisi, as politics is a dynamic game, which also thrives on currency.
The Mosu council was just the beginning of intensive lobbying as campaigns are expected to continue when the BDP Women’s Wing holds its national council before the party goes to its April national Council.
Quizzed about accusations that what he did in Mosu was a puppet master’s bidding, Boatile was quick to dismiss the notion as figment of people’s imaginations. He said that he never even raised the presidential elections issue. “I never raised that matter at all,” he said. “Somehow, there was a region that raised the early presidential elections but I remember it applied to all the elections including the Bulela Ditswe primary elections.”
His said after the matter was raised from the council floor, “as the chairman, presiding over the proceedings, there was no way in which the matter could have been debated”.