Bulela Ditswe Mogoditshane Rerun Heats Up
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday December 10, 2018 14:42
All has not been well after Mabaila won the primaries as some party members within the constituency felt that he was favoured during the party primary election preparations and therefore already had an upper hand.
However, at the time Mabaila won the race by 1,227 beating Mogogi Tshiamo who got 390 while former Member of Parliament, Patrick Masimolole and Emmanuel Otisitswe got 350 and 80 respectively.
Mabaila has since decided he will go to the 2019 polls as an independent candidate following his suspension from the party.
Those who will battle it out for his now vacant seat in the BDP include youthful Tumiso ‘Chillyboy’ Rakgare, Kgang Kgang, Masimolole and Arone Radira.
Surprisingly some members who did well in the last primaries did not contest and the other two who did not do well are the ones who are trying their luck for the second time.
Radira and Rakgare are the new entrants in the rerun. Though Rakgare did not perform badly during 2014 general elections under Botswana Congress Party (BCP) ticket, one wonders if he would be able to convince BDP members quickly enough to secure their votes more so that Masimolole and Kgang have had an opportunity already to register members in the first round of the party primaries.
The same thing applies to Radira, who together with Rakgare may only rely on the members registered by previous aspiring candidates to give them support. Masimolole and Kgang have been active within the BDP Mogoditshane structures so they might have support from members.
According to a source, the BDP members in Mogoditshane want a young person who will face opposing candidates.
In the last party primary elections, some BDP members complained that their names were not included in the voters’ roll, something that is not yet clear whether it has been rectified or not.
“The competition is going to be tight and it is difficult for one to predict which candidate stands a better chance at winning. Mogoditshane branch will have to talk to members for them to vote in large numbers,” he said.
“The members within the constituency have been having their internal fights, which led to some being suspended. Therefore, the numbers of people who are going to vote might be low.” Rakgare confirmed that he is contesting and is busy working the ground.