Recently, President Mokgweetsi Masisi who is also the helmsman at the BDP announced that he wants the ruling party’s popular vote to hover around 60% to 70% in the coming general election.
In the 2019 General Election, according to an election report, the BDP garnered the popular vote of 52%, seconded by Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) with 36%. As for Local Government seats contested for and won per political parties, it shows that the BDP contested in all 490 polling districts and won 334 seats.
It was followed by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), which contested in 484 polling districts and won 129 seats. The Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), Alliance for Progressives (AP), and Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) won 17, six and one respectively. Out of the 200 independent candidates who contested in Local Government elections, only four won.
“A notable decline was recorded at the 2014 polls owing largely to a significant departure from custom practices and policies in government marked by general disregard for therisanyo (consultation) as a cornerstone of our democratic principles. Through the reset agenda championed by party President Masisi, we have retraced our steps to consult more with members of the party and Batswana in general.
The government has also intensified efforts to open opportunities with international partners for trade, scholarships and jobs here at home and abroad as a way to improve livelihoods. This is one of the reasons why a person would vote for BDP,” Kario said. He said at the party level, they have reopened channels of engagement and mutual respect with the trade union movement and civil society at large.
The BDP secretary-general said they have also rekindled BDP members to take ownership of, trust and respect party processes to mortar unity for a purpose amongst all members.
Kario said they encourage free participation at all levels within the party for a robust, efficient and well-oiled party machinery. He observed that he had ensured that party structures are cranked up and embraced this backtrack to their core founding values as a ticket to winning elections.
He, however, said they accept all manner of feedback and constantly engage with public and private sector participants to exchange and enhance ideas on improving the livelihoods of ordinary Batswana.
Kario added: “We believe that with an efficient service delivery in government and constant consultation with the people, we will garner improved numbers in both the popular vote and a number of seats in Parliament at the 2024 elections.” He said they have done a lot of work in government to portray the BDP as the natural choice to any voter and the spirit of unity prevailing in the party will ensure that the members turn out in large numbers to vote for the BDP. On why he thinks the BDP is doing differently this time around, he said the party has found itself.
He claimed that it has reconnected with its core base and is working day and night to attract new and young members to the party. “We are constantly consulting with our branches and regional structures to connect and give feedback to our deployees in government on how best to deliver services and amenities to the people.
The reset agenda speaks largely to a paradigm shift towards an efficient government and that is our ticket to winning the 2024 elections,” he said. Kario also said the party has always drawn its strength from delivering life-changing programmes and prioritising the plight of ordinary Batswana.
He said their organisational strength pits them heads and shoulders ahead of the opposition and repeated failures to contain their lust for positions surely do not augur well for them while the BDP provides a home for those who continue to lose hope in the opposition.
Furthermore, he said the collective effort of all members of the BDP has proven over time to be stronger than any individual's effort and their renewed vigour will render any force that opposes them irrelevant. On the issue of primary elections, Kario said they have opted for less involvement of candidates in the primary elections and allowed the branch or regional structures more control of the processes to ensure that there is less interference of external forces with the will of the local people.
He said they have also strengthened the administrative efficiency of the primary elections to curb administrative lapses that led to fall outs after elections. On whether the BDP still has the support of the council of elders and if it is functional, he preferred to say: “The council of elders is a key player in our Goora motho core base strategy and confers regularly with party leadership on pertinent issues.
Yes, the council of elders is alive and very functional.” According to the election report of 2019, the BDP won all seats in the southeastern part of the country. The UDC acquired most of its seats from the Central and North-West districts of the country. The BPF won three (3) seats in the Central District. In 2014, the UDC won 17 seats compared to this last election’s 15. Botswana Congress Party (BCP), which is now an affiliate of UDC, had three in 2014.
