Mabeo takes his loss to Parley floor
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Friday November 30, 2018 14:14
Mabeo who seemed restless when responding to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) said that this has led to “flawed MPs” being elected to Parliament during the national elections.
He said that people who win primaries to represent their parties during the national elections are not elected on merit and are decided by a flawed system.
“If we have a flawed primary election system, it means that we are going to have a flawed national election therefore as individual parties, and I say we must stand as one because if we render a flawed candidate to the electorate during the national elections, it means we are going to have a flawed MP representing this country,” said Mabeo.
Mabeo said that it is important for individual parties to practise a similar system to the one used during the national elections. He complained that during primary elections, some people are allowed to vote using their Identity Cards (IDs) only, which is not the case during the national elections as individuals must also have their voter registration cards.
“Therefore, it is very important that whatever is being practised at national level should be used at party level. We never had situations where we say use Omang to elect somebody who is going to stand for Batswana.
So, why do we then have to say we use IDs to elect a candidate at primary elections level whereas IEC doesn’t allow that?” he added.
As he debated, opposition MPs kept interrupting him on points of clarifications and asking him to be specific that he is complaining about his loss during the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) primaries held in August this year.
“We understand you Honourable Mabeo, but just be specific that you are unhappy about your loss during the primaries,” chipped in Wynter Mmolotsi.
Mabeo was amongst some the prominent Cabinet ministers and incumbent MPs who lost during the “messy” party elections.
He lost to Thamaga North councillor, Palelo Motaosane, who trumped him by 3,842 votes to 2,239 after serving just one term in Parliament.
On other issues, Mabeo called for more efforts to fight corruption. He said that all Batswana must enjoy the wealth of their country, not just a selected few.