Vote buying not uncommon in Botswana

EDWARD BULE
Correspondent | Friday September 3, 2010 00:00

There have been allegations that political parties, individual candidates or their supporters offer gifts including food, beer or cash to the voter or activist of a rival party in order to either influence their choice of a representative in the polling booth, or, in the case of a rival activist, to defect to the buyer's party.  Even in cases where a politician avers to have witnessed the bribery of voters at the polls or where an activist claims to have been offered a bribe to decamp, no alleged offender has so far been indicted in Botswana.

Observers are worried that if the allegations of political bribery are true, then Botswana's democracy is under threat.  The concern emanates from the fact that political bribery is endemic in many countries in Africa and beyond. Bribery is considered by many as a sign of desperation by a contending party or candidate, fearful of the prospect of losing the elections.

Poverty, greed and lack of ethical values are said to be some of the breeding grounds for this type of corruption.  The spokesperson of the Botswana Movement for Democracy, Sydney Pilane says that bribery could be a sign of economic instability because, where poverty reigns supreme, bribery is common.

He says that the practice, if left unchecked, could undermine democracy to the point of destroying it. According to Pilane, bribery is a sign of lack of integrity on the part of those who practice it adding that it should never be allowed to become the culture of any society as it has the effect of causing people to lose confidence in their political systems and democratic institutions.

He further adds that those who win political office through corrupt means will not only condone it but actively practice it while in office, to the detriment of the country. Shathiso Tambula, Secretary General of the Botswana Peoples' Party, says that vote buying is anathema to democracy as it distorts the reality on the ground. The BPP chief says that bribery interferes with the judgment of the voter.

He regrets that society has become so materialistic as to not only permit themselves to be bought but to request or demand to be bought.

To him, the situation is a testament of the extent to which our ethical values have plummeted. Tambula says that within the political context, it is those who are not sufficiently conscious politically who are purchasable.

He concludes by saying that those with a cause to fight for can never be bought. The Secretary General of the Botswana National Front (BNF), Akanyang Magama says that bribery, which he says is a reality in Botswana politics, is not new.  He says that the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has unlimited access to resources which it has used over the years to either purchase opposition politicians or retain their own disgruntled members. Magama says that BDP activists offer voters money even when they are queuing to vote. He says that elections, an important element of democracy, should be about conviction and not money.

The BNF man says that his party does not condone vote buying even for its internal elections because, in the view of the BNF, bribery stands in contradiction to justice and all the values of democracy. The publicity and information secretary of the Botswana Congress Party, Taolo Lucas says it is unethical for any politician to use undue influence on people by offering them material things.

Describing political bribery as a practice that should be nipped in the bud, he says that the outcome of an election should be a genuine expression of the views of the people.

Taolo says that the moment people are manipulated through bribery, they no longer vote on the basis of the respective qualities of the candidates, ideologies or policies espoused by the contesting political parties.  Like Magama, Taola is unequivocal in his assertion that the BDP has been buying votes since its formation and continues to entrench the aberrational practice in our politics.

The BCP spokesperson says that his party's primary election regulations outlaw bribery although the BCP is yet to adopt a legislative instrument pertaining to general elections. Themba Joina, the President of MELS, a communist movement, says bribery is an inherent characteristic of capitalism. He attributes the instability in the disparate opposition parties over the years to bribery by the ruling party.

He says that the only solution to bribery is the replacement of capitalism and the ushering in of a new communist order. Joina says he is aware that politicians bribe voters when they cannot raise the required nine people on nomination day.

According to the MELS leader, vote buying is an act of indiscipline in terms of his party constitution. Both the BDP Secretary General, Thato Kwerepe and Excecutive Secretary were not ready to comment by press time. The Secretary of the Independent Electoral Commission, Gabriel Seeletso, says that, bribery in politics, like all forms of corruption is handled by the Police and DCEC.

Thambani Peter, an attorney with Kenneth Obeng Attorneys, says that proving bribery beyond a shadow of doubt is an uphill battle. He says that if the recipient of the alleged bribe is not willing to help the prosecution, it would be difficult for such a case to exist.

Describing bribery as a crime, Peter says that politicians should not promise voters individual benefits as that amounts to bribery.  He insists that in a democracy, voters should be left alone to choose their leaders without any personal inducements. 

He cites examples of when a candidate bought bicycles and cellphones for some influential voters as a clear case of bribery admitting though that it would be difficult to pin the culprit down as he could easily argue that he was only empowering his campaign team to be able to reach the voters either by calling or cycling to their places.