BDP apologises to primary election losers
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday June 15, 2018 13:24
The party leadership recently summoned both winners and losers in the party primary elections held on January 20, 2018 in opposition held constituencies to Gaborone where the head honchos apologised to the losers for failing to hear them accordingly.
After talking to both winners and losers in the party primary elections branded Bulela Ditswe, the party operatives have apparently accepted the party’s apologies and are ready to work.
“We were called by the party leadership recently and they apologised for their mistakes in handling some of the post-Bulela Ditswe queries,” one of the losers in Francistown South constituency, Khumongwana Maoto explained this week.
The encouragement was that for now they should rally behind the winners so that the party can win back some of the constituencies held by the opposition like Francistown South.
“We were encouraged to take responsibility to ensure that we tussle the constituency (Francistown South) from the Alliance for Progressives (AP) represented by former BDP operative, Wynter Mmolotsi,” Maoto said, indicating that on that note, he has accepted responsibility as the BDP campaign manager in Francistown South constituency. After the party leadership apologised, Maoto and the rest of the losers have taken it upon themselves to bury the hatchet with their party and have since forgiven each other, letting bygones be bygones.
The BDP’s youthful parliamentary candidate, Modiri Lucas has also acknowledged that he and Maoto have sat down and ironed out their differences.
“I recently approached Maoto given his vast experience in politics so that we can work together, especially after the Vice President and party chairperson, Slumber Tsogwane addressed us post-Bulela Ditswe,” Lucas said, taking advantage of Tsogwane’s address.Lucas indicated that from the reconciliation meeting Maoto acknowledged that he was going to look at the bigger picture of serving the BDP passionately than his personal interests.
Lucas had further vowed that if he had lost the primaries he was going to duly support Maoto or anyone who would have won the primaries.
“I can assure you that the BDP is going to win Francistown South constituency from the opposition this time around. We know that we are contesting against Mmolotsi who often thrives on politics of character assassination,” Lucas was hopeful, indicating that he has informed Mmolotsi that he is his campaign manager on the other side of the political divide as he talks about him all the time.
Maoto will be deputised by Keneilwe Sisca, who has been roped into the campaign team on the basis of the gender card and is expected to sway the womenfolk to rally behind the BDP candidate, Lucas in the constituency.
January this year, the BDP held primaries in 18 opposition-held constituencies. Whilst candidates slugged it for the BDP tickets at 10 constituencies, in the eight other constituencies some party operatives got the party tickets on a silver platter and unopposed.