The BDP was not prepared for the ouster and worse, never saw it coming, even in their wildest dreams. The former ruling party still does not have the slightest idea of what had hit them in last October polls. The BDP has been at the helm for nearly 60 uninterrupted years from independence in 1966 and now it has been reduced to a shockingly minority party with only four seats in a 61 elected member National Assembly, which has earned them the moniker ‘Fours’ like Botswana’s popularly rising retailer by the same name. Botswana’s unicameral National Assembly has a total of 69 members including six Specially Elected MPs, the State President and the Speaker of the National Assembly who are ex-officio members. Botswana’s fifth and one-term president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, sensing defeat was imminent, was the first to telephone Duma Boko of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) assuring him that he would accept defeat if the results of the 13th polls gave the UDC victory. At least in some parts of Africa, losing presidents do not easily accede defeat as they put some form of resistance, claiming victory even in a glaring loss. From the face of it, it does not seem Masisi, who is the party’s outgoing president (and his party head honchos) are going to do anything soon to help their party’s sunken voices as minority opposition.
The BDP is behaving more like a family in disorder. The party activities lack proper coordination. People started speaking in their different voices immediately after the party lost the polls. The blame game was accelerated with the majority of the fingers pointed at Masisi for having failed to take proper control of a party that had everything to enable it to win the 2024 polls. The BDP leadership in its desperation has also promised to institute an inquiry to establish what could have caused its loss. Due to the loss, regular funders streamed out of the party from the corporate space to a renowned party benefactor and motor magnate Satar Dada, who ensured the BDP had full financial and logistical support has also called it quits. The BDP previously also relied upon its many MPs and councillors for stable monthly subscriptions to run party affairs. Masisi recently traversed the length and breadth of the country drumming up support for the party diehards to rise from the ashes and stand with the BDP during these trying times. He is not the first party leader to witness the formation of a break away party from the BDP as in 2010 his predecessor, Ian Khama, who was the country’s fourth president saw the emergence of the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), which was formed by disillusioned members of the then ruling party, especially staunch members of a faction known as Barata Phathi, which Khama chose not to recognise even after vanquishing the A-Team axis, which was closer to him (Khama). Just on the verge of the 2019 General Election, Khama, who had retired after serving his two five-year terms, facilitated the formation of the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) after falling out with Masisi with the view to ousting the BDP from power. His regional party was, however, able to remove the BDP from its traditional strongholds in the vast Central District.
