BCP, BNF women scramble for BMD areas
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday November 16, 2018 13:24
The polling districts that the women want to contest at are Gaborone North and Gaborone Central. The areas were under BMD before it was kicked out from the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
The two parties have been having fewer women representatives at both parliamentary and council level. The BCP wants Gaborone North constituency to be given to them and party chairperson, Motsei Rapelana will be UDC representative while in Gaborone Central they want BNF Women’s League to choose a woman.
Rapelana lost to Haskins Nkaigwa in the constituency in 2014. Nkaigwa will next year be contesting under the newly formed Alliance For Progressives (AP). Phenyo Butale won Gaborone Central under a UDC ticket. He has also left the UDC to form the AP. The BCP Women’s League is having a congress over the weekend where they are expected to take a resolution to that effect. “It is true as the Women’s League we are going to discuss the matter at our congress.
“Women representatives for parliamentary and council seats are very few. Our party has to encourage and support women when they contest for other positions so that they could contribute toward decision-making,” BCP Women’s League president, Daisy Bathusi said.
Bathusi said they had met with BNF counterparts and the matter would be finalised after the congress.
BNF Women’s League secretary general, Resego Kgosidintsi said they have informed the UDC leadership about their request verbally. “We intend to write to the UDC leadership after the BCP Women’s League had taken that resolution at their congress on Saturday.
The letter will be signed by two youth league presidents,” Kgosidintsi disclosed. She said UDC leadership would receive their request letter by the end of next week. “The reason why we did not complete the process is that the current BCP Women’s League mandate is coming to an end and therefore they need to get their mandate from congress. The new committee is the one that we will work with.”