BNF Primaries Marred By Fights
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday September 10, 2018 14:25
The initial polls were held on August 18, 2018 and election officers stopped the counting of Khakhea ward due to some irregularities. Sources allege that some people voted multiple times in the same ward.
According to sources, there was exchange of blows in Khakhea on Saturday during counting of ballots, which led to the parliamentary elections being withheld. It is said party members attacked each other as they disagreed on the number of votes recorded. A councillor from Jwaneng is said to have then stabbed one of the party members during the fight. Doors and windows were reportedly broken in the process before the police were called in to assist.
One of the candidates, Celsius Rande said the fights erupted as people were not happy with the way the election officers conducted the polls.
“The commotion erupted after I queried on the result I was given. When elections took place last month, I was in Kokong where I got 188 votes. I was surprised to see the chart they were using on Saturday written that I had 87 votes,” he said.
“They corrected that when I questioned them, I went on to question the Sekoma numbers. They then told me to bring proof and refused to change the numbers as they did for Kokong. That is when people got angry and a commotion started.”
Rande expressed disappointment at the way things turned out stating that he did not have observers at some polling stations and wondered if he could have been awarded wrong numbers.
Oodira-Kwenje expressed disappointment at how events turned out. “I was not in Khakhea when it all happened, but I am saddened by the way things are going. We have waited longer than enough for the results. It seems like the incumbent is being favoured. This is not good for our democracy. It will destroy the good name of our party if we do not correct things urgently,” he said.
Nthaile could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone was off air at the time of going to press.
However, BNF spokesperson Justin Hunyepa said they were still awaiting a report, which they expect today. “We are yet to get a report on what really transpired. It would be really unfortunate if indeed our people damaged school property and someone was stabbed with a knife. We will investigate and take action if need be,” he said.
Mabutsane Police Station Commander, Superintendent Keitshokile Kebodiretswe confirmed the incident.
“We received a report that BNF held their primary elections at Molongwa Junior Secondary School on Saturday. We were told there were differences, which led to arguments and then fights. We are aware of one person who was stabbed with a sharp object on the hand. It is not yet clear who the culprit is,” he said.
Kebodiretswe said their investigations are continuing stating that they are yet to determine the extent of damages.