BMD bolters opposition ranks - opposition

EDWARD BULE
Correspondent | Friday July 2, 2010 00:00

This is despite the fact that at its inaugural rally in Francistown recently, the BMD welcomed to its ranks members of certain opposition parties some of whom have previously stood as council candidates.

The split of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), the subsequent formation of the BMD and the collapse of entire BDP structures in many places, have in the recent weeks been used as evidence that the future of the BDP is under threat, especially by the opposition.

It has been suggested that the BDP will lose the 2014 general elections because the numbers will simply not favour it. Detractors have, however, argued that the very formation of the BMD is an indictment on the credibility of the existing opposition parties.

Asked whether he was not worried that the BMD is a threat to his party, the Secretary General of the Botswana People's Party (BPP), Shathiso Tambula, says the BPP has a solid philosophy which is known to everyone, whereas it is not clear what the BMD stands for.

Tambula does not see BPP members drifting to the new party in any significant numbers, saying only a few members might do so. Doubting that BMD offers anything ideologically different from what the BPP, he adds that even those who might leave the BPP in favour of the BMD would be doing so only out of excitement for the new outfit. He says the BPP advocates the economic empowerment of Batswana, especially through a just distribution of land as a critical means of production.

The Secretary General of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Taolo Lucas, says the BCP welcomes the formation of the BMD, which he sees as a vindication of the message the BCP has always preached that there is a serious erosion of democracy and civil liberties in Botswana.

'We are more than ready to collaborate with them to defeat authoritarianism and tendencies towards unilateralism,' Lucas says, adding that the BMD is weakening the support base of the BDP. However, instead of losing support, the BCP is gaining because people are now saying, 'Yes, indeed you were right. The BDP is a dictatorship.' The BCP Secretary General says the BCP is a product of conviction and principle. 'We have the experience of traversing rough terrain, troubled waters and of successful alliance politics,' he argues. 'The BCP will move into the future with confidence.'

The Deputy Secretary General of the Botswana National Front (BNF), Mokgweetsi Kgosipula, says the formation of BMD is not a threat to his party but a positive development. The birth of the BMD can only complement BNF efforts to unseat the BDP government by ensuring that more and more Batswana are in the ranks of the opposition. He too views the BMD as a partner that stands for what the BNF advocates. Kgosipula adds that the absence of democracy, which is one of the major talking points of the BMD, has always been a BNF issue.The possibility of the BMD assuming the status of the main opposition in Parliament does not make the BNF spend sleepless nights either. 'The critical thing is not who is the leader of the opposition but what is being offered and how it benefits Batswana,' Kgosipula says.

To show that it is not envious of the BMD, the BNF has invited both the BCP and the BMD to its congress this year to present solidarity messages because he hopes opposition cooperation will materialise. This development should remove the need for competition among opposition parties, he says.