UDC introspects after Sekoma loss

Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday March 8, 2016 18:00

 

There is admission in private party circles that complacency and a lax attitude cost the UDC and that their members, unlike in past by-elections, did not work hard on the ground. In fact, while there is general agreement that the opposition could not match the resources of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) invested campaign, mumblings within are that the party left everything to chance and paid a heavy price for that. The UDC failed to take advantage of its new relationship with Botswana Congress Party (BCP).

Even the leadership confirms this feeling.

“In some circles, there are murmurings that those involved at different levels of the campaign management should have deployed a different set of tactics or personnel to secure a win. These feelings are natural, and in some cases justified, but they must not cloud or take away from the bigger picture that the UDC is a marvellous movement of the people that is on course to foment a new people’s government in 2019,” UDC secretary general Ndaba Gaolathe said.

Mmegi has learnt that the UDC started its campaigns in the area very late and became comfortable that they would win the ward as in previous years. On the other hand the BDP took advantage of UDC’s complacency.

One of the biggest blunders that cost the UDC insiders say, was the sudden postponement of the candidate. It was initially Saturday, February 13, a day before the welcoming party of Margaret Nasha. The launch was supposed to be used as a platform to sign the UDC/BCP MoU, but was postponed at the 11th hour for the following Saturday. Added to that, the BNF leadership was focused on the 50th anniversary celebrations and this is said to have dampened many volunteers’ spirits who wondered if the leadership was taking little interest in the by-election.

In rural areas, a win or lose can depend on where the candidate is drawn from. Apparently UDC had a problem in this regard.

“We also failed to listen to residents of Sekoma ward, when they said this time around they wanted a candidate who comes from three villages of Mahotshwane, Keng and Khonkhwa. Their feeling was that they had long been dominated by people from Sekoma village. Again Botswana National Front (BNF) which is an affiliate of UDC had internal problems in Sekoma because some candidate who stood against the UDC candidate Robert Rantsho during the primaries did not support him,” the source said.

Another source said: “The ruling party used resources like food and money to lure people in the area but we failed to counter that. The other painful issue was failure by the party to bring campaign people who could stay in the area. The teams arrived late unlike the BDP ones. The BDP campaign manager Mephato Reatile (former BNF MP in the area) was helped by Lotty Manyapetsa and Thato Osupile (recent recruits from BCP) who know opposition campaigns very well.”

The UDC branch chairman for Jwaneng/Mabutsane, Bankinyana Motsiemang said they had learnt a lot from the Sekoma by-election and they would make a proper report after retrospection.

“We have to educate our people on the ground because we realised that some did not vote because their identity cards were taken by people whom they cannot pinpoint. I understand people gave out their identity cards because they wanted food,” Motsiemang said.  Meanwhile the BDP campaign manager for Sekoma ward, Reatile said their strategy to win Sekoma ward was easy as they requested each village member to have their own campaign team and lead it.

“We wanted our campaigns to be lead by people from that area not us. Our job was simply to help them where they had a shortfall. The reasons are that those youth can convince each other better than us. They know each other well and where those people work. Of course our party was focused on this ward and we stopped certain activities because we knew the ward belonged to the opposition. That worked for us greatly,” Reatile said.

He however dismissed talk that their party used food and money to attract people.

“Dipuo tseo re di utlwa mo go ba ga rona ba opposition. Ba simolotse go di bua ka Labotlhano ba bona gore tiro re e dirile,” he said.  He said his party was on the ground everyday to coordinate the campaign very well. Reatile said one of their members got hold of an Omang card belonging to a voter after the owner requested him to do so when they had gone to do a duplicate at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). “We did not collect Omang cards from people, that is not true. This case is a different one because a voter had requested our member to do so. But we handed the old man his Omang card after his son demanded  us to do so,” Reatile said.