BDP cleans up Bobirwa voters' roll
Chakalisa Dube | Friday November 30, 2018 14:06
The party’s Electoral Board chairperson, Peter Siele, confirmed this yesterday. Siele said that the appointment was made on Tuesday following a meeting with the council and parliamentary candidates who will be part of the re-run slated for December 15.
The primaries in Bobonong constituency were acrimonious, with high tension amongst supporters belonging to both Shaw Kgathi and his rival, Francisco Kgoboko.
Kgathi who lost the primaries had complained that former President Ian Khama campaigned for Kgoboko, something he said, disadvantaged him during the primary elections.
In addition, Kgathi whose loss was amongst those that yielded a lot of surprises alleged that a sizeable number of voters were trafficked.
He garnered 2,593 votes against Kgoboko’s 4,865. “We have appointed one Senwelo who will be tasked with ensuring that only the right people feature on the voters’ roll and ascertain that everything is in place ahead of the elections.
He has already started working with all the candidates.
We believe that transparency and proper management of issues surrounding the voters’ roll can lead to credible and fair elections,” said Siele in a telephone interview.
He added, “To avoid instances where an individual will be conflicted, we have settled for someone who is not from the constituency or the BOMASE region”.
Siele noted that the meeting with the candidates and relevant stakeholders went smoothly and the re-run elections would go on as planned.
“Nothing was discussed beyond the subject of how the primaries will be conducted,” he highlighted. Previously, there were indications that the meeting might be characterised by tension.
Additionally, a group affiliated to Kgoboko was reportedly planning to launch a court bid to halt the primaries.
The group’s position was that Kgathi had been awarded a rerun ticket through the backdoor as his protest did not comply with party procedures.
In a letter routed to the party secretary general, Mpho Balopi, Kgoboko’s supporters also argued that he was not afforded a fair hearing as prescribed in the party constitution.
They believe that Kgathi, who is also the Minister of Justice Defence and Security, enjoys the support of the BDP central committee, the higher organ of the party, which is why he was granted a re-run.
At the time of going to press, teams affiliated to both Kgoboko and Kgathi were reportedly busy with the verification of the voters’ roll.
It has also emerged that the meeting on Tuesday was not highly charged as anticipated.