Khama urges UDC to challenge election results
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday November 1, 2019 12:42
He says he will now sit back and watch as the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) grow. Khama’s BPF won all the three Serowe constituencies and helped the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) win a good number of constituencies including Palapye, Sefhare-Ramokgonami, all Mahalapye constituencies and Shoshong amongst others.
He is the patron of BPF and he has been campaigning aggressively for it to win 2019 general elections together with UDC.
“Yes, I was happy with the outcome because the purpose was to try and win some constituencies and also to help and work with the UDC to assist them to win some constituencies as well.
I think in that regard we did achieve our objective, especially where we were targeting, trying to remove the BDP from its traditional strongholds. I think that was accomplished.
So after 53 years we managed to breakthrough that grip in a number of constituencies. Thinking that the party (BPF) was only four months old at the time, I think it was an historic achievement,” Khama said in an interview with Mmegi.
He added that he believes the BPF could still do well whether he is there or not as it has capable leaders who have been working hard for the party.
He also believes that the UDC has performed well even though they might have been some voting irregularities and the results would be challenged in court.
“That is what we are going to find out. I think they performed much better than what the results demonstrated. And those results as we know are going to be challenged in court.”
He quickly added that he did not have evidence that the vote was rigged. “I don’t have that evidence, but I think those who are going to court have compiled the evidence. From what they tell me they seem to be, I am not going to use the word rigged, because when you rig it means that you deliberately tried to cheat.
The court will decide whether they were rigged or not, so at this stage I prefer to call them irregularities because irregularities could come about out of rigging or just human error.”
On the issue of reconciliation with President Mokgweetsi Masisi, Khama said at the back of his mind it is a matter of time before they sooner or later but it is bound to happen.
On intentions to retrace his steps to BDP Khama said; “There you have caught me, ga ke itse gore nka go araba ike reng. One should say never say never. If those reasons that had made me leave the BDP are still there then I would not go back to it”.
Meanwhile South African businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe has denied sponsoring UDC or helping it any way to win the elections. “I have not meet UDC leaders and I do not know them,” Motsepe-Radebe said yesterday when addressing South African media.