Thus far BDP victories have been by denying opposition parties public funding which itself enjoys via: the incumbency factor, business donations, state media monopoly and manipulation of the electoral system, including rigging!
In many parts of Africa, elections are won through harassment, intimidation and state terrorism on the opposition unleashed by the incumbent party, which factor was absent hitherto in Botswana. That’s why consensus was, ‘general elections in Botswana are free though unfair!’ In countries where intimidation and harassment occurs, it’s practiced preponderantly by the rulers as they have the wherewithal to inflict violence through the security apparatus they control: the army, police, informers and thugs, the opposition consistently refuse to be onlookers and invariably return the favour in due course. The reaction inevitably leads to unrest, chaos and ultimately to civil war. The opposition, ill-equipped underdog by nature, is the one usually dragged into the violence fomented by the power-corrupted rulers. Under pressure the opposition, is willy-nilly compelled to adopt undesirable methods to resist rulers’ provocative methods. The best defence as often said, is to attack, to counter-attack with all one may have, including throwing sand in the eyes of the bullies, which is all we have aplenty in Botswana .
