Power emanates from the people

EDWARD BULE
Correspondent | Friday February 18, 2011 00:00

However, this is not the first time that the BDP has opted for a compromise list instead of an open election.Observers are wondering what could be the justification for the apparent 'state of emergency' in the BDP this time around. After the split in the BDP and the formation last year of the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), the BDP leadership has not missed an opportunity to impress upon all and sundry that the 'trouble makers' are gone and that peace reigns supreme in the ruling party.

Critics feel amply vindicated by what they say would be an undemocratic action by the BDP leadership should the plan go through.

They assert that even if Khama were to achieve the desired order and discipline, the outcome of the whole arrangement would have been a structure whose legitimacy is as suspect as any in a non-democratic set-up. The central committee, they argue, would not reflect the tried and tested principle of majority rule.

The spokesperson of the BMD, Sidney Pilane, says that the BDP is not a democratic party. 'They have long stopped,' he said matter-of-factly, adding that if the party were at peace with itself, there would be no fear of instability resulting from an open election and therefore no need for a compromise list.

Pilane says that Khama needs to fix the elections because if the people were allowed to vote, he would not get the people he wants in the central committee. According to the BMD leader, such a situation would deny Khama the opportunity to have the absolute control of the BDP that he so desires.

At the BDP congress in Kanye two years ago, all the A-Team candidates lost to the Barata-Phathi candidates, in the contest for central committee posts. The relationship between Khama and the then new committee was cold at best and most tempestuous at the worst of times.

The acrimony ended with the suspension of the newly elected secretary general, Gomolemo Motswaledi, Wynter Mmolotsi and Guma Moyo.

The schism so widened that the party split and the BMD was formed. The high profile court case between Khama and Motswaledi emanated from the irreconcilable differences between the BDP leaders.

In Pilane's view, Khama should understand that politics is an emotional and competitive activity, which can result in conflicts if not properly handled. 'Khama should embrace this reality as being one of the burdens of democracy which every true democrat must learn to live with,' admonishes Pilane. He finds it unacceptable to deny the people, the true distributors of power, to freely exercise their choices in a competitive election.

He says that he would not be surprised if in the name of party stability, Khama abolished the next BDP primary elections. The last BDP primaries caused unprecedented instability in the party, with many losers openly attacking their party before resigning and standing as independents.

Asked whether he did not think that Khama might also discontinue national elections in the name of national stability, he said, 'He might want to do that but he better not dare because we would not allow it.' When declaring one-party states, African leaders often argue that competitive elections were anathema to national cohesion.

Yoweri Museveni of Uganda introduced his philosophy of no-party democracy because, he said, elections were not only an expensive enterprise but they also engendered divisions among the people. 

Botswana Congress Party (BCP) vice-president, Ephraim Setshwaelo says that since Khama's ascendance to power, democracy has been under threat. He says that the BDP has allowed Khama's view to prevail in the past.

He says that when Motswaledi wanted to stand for the Serowe North West seat in the last elections, Khama told him to withdraw in favour of Tshekedi Khama, the president's younger brother. He says that when Khama's cousin Ramadeluka Seretse lost to Kgotla Autlwetse in the primary elections in 2003, the will of the people was overturned.

Setshwaelo is concerned that instead of deepening democracy, Khama is overthrowing it. He regrets that Batswana have allowed Khama to get away with assaults on democracy. He fears that the permissive attitude of Batswana towards Khama 'might tempt him to one day abolish general elections'.

BCP secretary general Kesitegile Gobotswang says that it is ironic that Khama, who has publicly proclaimed himself a democrat and with 'democracy' as a component of his roadmap for the development of Botswana, should choose to become an active impediment to it. 'Should Khama have his way, democracy would be compromised.

If a ruling party can even think of doing that, it raises questions about the extent to which it will continue to devalue democracy even at the national level,' he said, adding that inner party democracy is the bedrock of democracy at a national level.

Gobotswang asserts that in a true democracy, it is the people who decide who should lead them and not the leaders themselves.  In his view, the BDP is being economical with the truth when it says there is peace in the party, adding that the 'BDP continues to be unstable and fragile. As a result, the leadership is scared. By fixing the elections, Khama wants to present a semblance of stability in the party.'

Botswana National Front (BNF) information and publicity secretary Moeti Mohwasa, says that people are not likely to reject Khama's proposal especially at a time when there is fear in the BDP. He says that by making the statement in favour of a compromise list, Khama has compromised peoples' ability to think beyond his words.

Citing one of the basic principles of democracy, which says, 'nothing for us without us,' Mohwasa says democracy without the exercise of the will of the majority is a monumental farce.

Arguing that it is the internal party practices that inform the national superstructure, Mohwasa says that the BDP must practise internal democracy before it can hope to be the champions of national democracy. The BNF official says that he does not think Khama would not declare a one-party state because it is not in sync with the international atmosphere.

Reluctant 'to comment on the internal affairs of another party,' MELS president Themba Joina, like Marobela, says that the people have got a chance to reject the compromise list and demand an election at the congress if they so wish.  Joina says that the problem with the proposed list is that it will be elitist and favour certain families.

 'Certain families will benefit. The advantage of an open election is that it gives everybody the opportunity to breakthrough,' says Joina.

Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) president Whyte Marobela says that what Khama is doing could be a tactical move, which any leader could make after weighing all available options.

Seeing nothing wrong with Khama's move, Marobela says that the suggestion by the President to defer the elections is not cast in stone as the congress could still overrule him since it is the supreme organ of the party. He adds that a leader must have vision and adjust to realities on the ground. 'If the strategy works for the BDP, let them use it,' says Marobela in conclusion.

BDP secretary general Thato Kwerepe says that the opposition is being hypocritical because compromises are a part of not only politics but daily life.

He insists that the BDP remains a democratic party and will not abolish the general elections. Asked how long the compromise arrangement will remain in place, he says that the party will review it at its next forums.