Magama likely to contest Nkange constituency
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday February 23, 2018 17:56
Mmegi has learnt that some members feel that if Nevah Tshabang is not willing to take another shot, Magama will be the rightful person to replace him.
Mmegi has it in good authority that some BCP members are already busy in the area campaigning for Magama. The BCP will hold its primary elections in May and Magama is expected to resign from his post before the primaries so that he could go and work the ground.
“Even though the party has not yet declared expression of interest for those willing to contest, but secretly some members have started campaigning while some are looking for consensus candidate. Tshabang has not declared whether he will contest or not despite some members in Nkange urging him to do so. Our aim is to win the constituency from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). Therefore the person who is willing to contest for the area should be at forefront in the campaign,” the source said.
The source said the constituency has a strategy in place and the only thing it needs is to have a candidate.
“We cannot afford to go for primary elections as a party. We want to be united in our constituency for us to win election because primary elections do divide members,” a BCP insider said.
Magama has however denied that he intended contesting the constituency. “That is not true. I have not been approached by any member to contest. Again, our party has not invited members to express their interest in areas they are willing to contest at,” Magama said.
Tshabang said he could not comment on the matter because he is a regional chairperson and his party does not allow him to talk to the media.
In 2014, Edwin Batshu of the BDP won the Nkange constituency with 6,461 votes with Tshabang under the BCP ticket coming close second with 5,874.
Mmegi has also learnt that the BCP president Dumelang Saleshando might relocate to Maun West constituency if Botswana Movement for Democracy is refusing to give BCP one of the Gaborone constituencies.
The BCP has proposed that some of the constituencies that some members of Alliance for Progressives had defected with be re- negotiated by parties and the matter is referred to Umbrella for Democratic Change congress starting today.