Democracy and floor crossing

EDWARD BULE
Correspondent | Friday May 14, 2010 00:00

Twelve years later, despite the unanimous adoption of this motion, the law banning the defection of Members of Parliament and Councillors is yet to be passed.

The vexing specter of floor-crossers is once again upon us, due to the imminent mass defection of several Botswana Democratic Party MPs associated with the Barata-Phathi faction to join the newly formed Botswana Movement for Democrac[BMD].

Recently at a rally in Francistown, President Ian Khama challenged the concerned MPs to subject themselves to an electoral process by vacating their seats to allow for fresh elections.

In response to this challenge, Sydney Pilane, spokesman for BMD, dared Khama to dissolve Parliament instead and call fresh elections to renew his own mandate. Indeed, there are those who argue that if it is ethical for a party leadership to expel an MP or councillor without resorting to the people, there should be nothing wrong with MPs or councillors defecting without consulting anybody.

Defections are common in many parts of the world as well. Most defections are a result of factional differences in the party the majority of which are not even ideological but are a result of disagreements over political values. Some people might defect to pre-empt disciplinary action against them.

Whatever the cause, defections excite a lot of controversy. Critics say that floor crossing undermines the will of the voters.  Calling them 'crosstitudes,' which rhymes well with prostitutes, Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Independent Freedom Party, South Africa, calling for the abolition of floor crossing in South Africa says that floor-crossers cause 'voter disenchantment with the political process of disenfranchisement.'

If the voters feel sufficiently aggrieved by the defecting representative whom they realise they have got no control over, they might lose faith in the election process and this might lead to voter apathy. 

As a result, say the opponents of floor crossing, while defectors can exercise their freedom of choice by changing their political allegiance, they have got no right to 'forcibly take' the electorate with them.

Crossing the floor without forgoing the seat has the effect of changing the results of the elections in a multi-party democracy and possibly altering the balance of power at a critical moment. This is not consistent with the view that in a democracy, 'sovereignty lies with the people' and that elected representatives should be accountable to the people.

Dr Werner Boehler of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung says, 'The system of floor crossing thus undermines participatory democracy and the accountability of politicians; on the one hand we have the Member of Parliament who is substantially free and independent in his decisions and subject to his own conscious; on the other hand we have a political culture which may have a substantial influence on the political party system.'

According to this line of thinking, when an MP or councillor defects or simply resigns, he should vacate the seat so that fresh elections are held. At the elections, the voter votes by making a mark against the name of the party and not that of the candidate.

The above argument is consistent with the fact that when an official resigns from a particular party, that official cannot continue to hold to whatever positions of responsibility he held in the said party before his resignation.

Smaller parties are the ones that usually suffer the vagaries of floor- crossing more wherever it is practiced. Related to this fact is the fact that this practice is open to manipulation.

Allegations abound that MPs and councillors from opposition parties cross the floor to a ruling party because the ruling party has offered them money or attractive positions in government.

The BDP has, over the years, welcomed defectors from smaller parties especially the Botswana National Front and Botswana Peoples' Party even well before the tabling of Kokorwe's motion in 1998. Predictably, the affected parties wanted the electoral law amended to outlaw floor crossing but the ruling BDP remained unanimous in their support of the status quo.

For a small party struggling to make ends meet, the loss of an MP or councillor also means the loss of the crucial monthly financial contributions he is making to the party.

In South Africa, the ruling African National Congress[ANC] won the elections in 2004 with 279 but by the end of the following year, the ANC had added 14 more MPs, in the form of floor- crossers from opposition parties. This happened amidst allegations of bribery; also called cheque- book politics.

Floor- crossing was abolished in South Africa in 2009 so that those who defect have to vacate their seats and subject themselves to an election process. Defections by elected representatives can also be an act of opportunism.  The person concerned may defect when he realises that the chances of him returning to Parliament or Council if he remains in his original party have diminished.

Motivated not by principle but naked selfishness, he defects to another party to improve his chances of maintaining power and a livelihood by winning in the next elections.  In support of floor-crossing before he changed his mind on it, Tony Leon of the Democratic Party[DA] in South Africa said it is good, 'because it deters party bosses from dominating public representatives.'The option of defecting, in other words, gives the MP or councillor the chance to walk away from a dictatorial party leadership.

Wynter Molotsi, BDP MP for Francistown South says that, although not ideal, floor crossing is justified when it is based on principle. 'A defection can be a statement to the nation to watch out for impending trouble.

The voters should trust their MPs and councillors and allow them to made decisions for them on the basis of what they see and experience.' He further argues that it allows MPs and councillors room for freedom and discretions. When a party becomes dictatorial and arrogant, it is irresponsible to remain part of it.

Peter Ngoma, a former member of the BPP who was expelled from the BPP because he ignored a caucus decision which he thought was undemocratic agrees that defections can be justified. He however stresses the fact that the voter should always be consulted even where the law condones floor-crossing.

He further reveals that even after his expulsion, he did not immediately join the BDP but went around his ward to take his people on board. He only joined the BDP only after he had been given the green light by the voters.

President of the MELS, Themba Joina says that in the current BDP saga, instead of the President attempting to pressurise defectors to resign, he should use the option of desolving Parliament and calling for fresh elections if he  himself feels aggrieved.  Joina wonders why floor-crossing has become an issue when in fact it has been happening for many years with the BDP benefiting. He feels that only under proportional representation electoral system can a party have claim over a representative.

At issue, in Joina's view, is the electoral system. Cynics feel that when this issue is discussed, the twin issue of direct elections of the President and automatic succession should also be discussed.