Keorapetse to table campaign funding motion
Staff Writer | Friday November 23, 2018 13:10
In his correspondence to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Gladys Kokorwe, Keorapetse said currently the government is working on the next budget, which will include funds for the 2019 General Elections.
He added that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) seeks to make some changes like supplementary voter registration in the next financial year.
“This change can be an opportunity to get us to increase the budget to enable campaign funding for 2019. The modalities will be proposed in the debate and government can also advise,” Keorapetse said.
He explained that he is aware of a motion on public funding of political parties was adopted by the 10th Parliament, but has not been implemented. “This one is different in that it calls for campaign funding for the 2019 General Elections...not the implementation of the motion on public funding of parties.
“The latter is comprehensive (includes funding for party administration and activities plus campaign funding) and may require an Act of Parliament, as it is the case in countries with public funding.
“What I’m asking for through this motion is the executive decision to provide funding for the 2019 elections whilst a comprehensive funding is still being considered.
He said even assuming the motion is similar to the one adopted previously, which in his view is not, Keorapetse posits that the 11th Parliament is not precluded from debating matters resolved by previous Parliaments.
”I’m of the view that every election year political parties and individual politicians face a mammoth task of funding the country’s democracy with the State through the IEC only assuming the role of a referee.
”It has become expensive for parties and politicians to campaign for office as elections related materials and services have become exorbitant,” he said.
He said modern technology including, but not limited to social media has made running for public office very expensive and hard for the youth and women whose unfortunate position in the country’s economy is well known.
Many politicians who go to the polls as incumbents, he added, are forced to use their gratuities to fund their campaigns and some who lose elections become instant paupers.
“Botswana politicians have become vulnerable to manipulation by the business community, foreign and other interests because of lack of campaign funding.”
The legislator said he is also aware that there has been a change of guard with President Mokgweetsi Masisi now at the helm. He said: “He has called political parties to a meeting and indicated his desire to resuscitate the All Party Conference.
“He may accede to this request by Parliament if it adopts the motion. He has for the first time ordered the live coverage of opposition leaders responses to SONA. This attempt is worth trying”. It is for this reason that he thinks Botswana could start with campaign funding for 2019 as a pilot project.
“I therefore request that you allow this motion to proceed at the convenience of the House; it reads: ‘This House resolves to request government to provide campaign funding to political parties represented in Parliament and or using 2014 electoral performance for 2019 general elections whilst still considering comprehensive and fully-fledged public funding of political parties’,” Keorapetse said.