Congress Gives Boko Powers To Expel Members
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday February 26, 2018 17:51
According to insiders, the commissions agreed that their congress, which would be held every two years, should have powers. “The president will be able to expel or suspend a member party and also be able to call a special congress,” a source said.
On the burning issue of the day, members recommended that there be primary elections in constituencies that are held by Alliance for Progressives (AP) or alternatively the BMD should release some of the constituencies allocated to them.
All the five AP constituencies were initially allocated to Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), who have since said nobody would touch their constituencies.
Members were furious accusing their president, Duma Boko of sympathising with the BMD as many thought the day would end with BMD kicked out of UDC.
Boko advised members that they could not expel the BMD as they do not have the powers to do so. He encouraged that there should be proper engagement with the party and it be helped where there is need. This did not go down well with some members labelling him a sell-out.
The congress recommendations will be looked into by the UDC leadership, which was given three months to report back to the members.
The eventful congress started very late, as it has become a norm for the party activities.
The closed session, which was scheduled to start in the afternoon, started just after midnight ending just before 8am the following morning.
One of the burning issues, which could have resulted in the late start, was the issue of delegates’ accreditation. Some BMD members were locked out of the congress, as they were not accredited.
Twenty-eight constituencies out of the 56 they brought were not allowed inside. Their secretary general, Gilbert Mangole told them that they had paid up for the members and decried that it was a deliberate move by some in the UDC to sabotage them.