UDC Trumps BDP In Tlokweng
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday May 15, 2017 18:00
The UDC retained Tlokweng constituency after the death of the area MP, Same Bathobakae last year November. UDC candidate, Masego Segokgo won by 4,635 votes, with Elijah Katse of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) getting 2,156 and independent candidate Shirley Segokgo coming a distant third with only 57.
The by-election, as it has become a norm, attracted a low turnout compared to the general elections in 2014.
Different political parties had thought that people would come in large numbers since President Ian Khama took long to issue the writ of elections.
On Saturday morning and afternoon the mood of different party members was difficult to discern.
But noticeable was the bouyant
BDP mood that they would do well as compared to 2014 in the area.
But the mood of the ruling party activists went somber in the week hours of Sunday morning when the counting showed the UDC leading from the word go, and continued to stretch the margin.
The UDC youth started singing and showing more confidence until the final results were announced around 11 am.
What worried all parties was the low turn out of voters at the polling stations. In 2014, UDC was voted by 6,442, BDP 3,867 and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) 1,195 and people who voted were 11,525 out of 13,882 who registered to vote.
“I thank my President Ian Khama and his Vice Mokgweetsi Masisi because they had helped so much in Tlokweng elections.
We had hope that we will win because our team worked hard on the ground. Residents of Tlokweng promised that they will cast votes for us but we respect their decision,” the BDP deputy campaign manager, Douglas Kereng said after the results.
He said the by-election would help them to introspect as a party and correct where they could have gone wrong.
For his part, Segokgo thanked his campaign team and party leaders for their support.
“I won because Batlokwa stood by me, and some who are staying in Tlokweng.
This is a true reflection that Batswana want change and they can stand for what they believe is the truth.
I promise that I will engage them on issues that affect them, most especially the land one so that we can find a solution to it. This issue cannot be solved quickly, but it has to be solved (eventually),” Segokgo said.
He said the other issue that troubles him is the state of education and health in the country.
Still at Tlokweng, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) spokesperson Osupile Maroba said they will investigate an issue in which two people could not vote while having IEC cards because their names were not there on the voters’ roll.
“We really don’t know what could have happened for their names not to be there on the voters’ roll. The two had voted in 2014,”Maroba said.