Mmegi

BDP’s indecision stresses Maun East party supporters

Three candidates have reportedly expressed interest to contest the BDP primaries for Maun East constituency  
PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Three candidates have reportedly expressed interest to contest the BDP primaries for Maun East constituency PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

MAUN: Anxiety and frustration have reached stress levels for the supporters of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the Maun East constituency. The candidates and their supporters are still awaiting the party’s central committee’s final decision on their candidature.

Exactly two months ago, the central committee released a list of all council and parliamentary candidates who had been approved to contest for the primary elections. Mysteriously, the list of 61 constituencies had a blank in relation to the Maun East parliamentary candidates. Only council candidates were listed. In a subsequent press release, the BDP’s spokesperson, Kagelelo Banks Kentse, said: “It should be noted that Maun East’s consultation process for parliamentary candidates is underway and democrats will be informed as soon as it is completed.”

This week Kentse maintained that the process is yet to be concluded and the outcome would be communicated accordingly. But with hardly four months left to 2024 General Election, the party’s general membership in the constituency find the sluggishness of that consultative process unsettling. They are anxious to at least know which candidates they will be choosing from in the scheduled party primaries. Recently, the party president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, announced the primaries will be held sometime at the end of June or beginning of July. The three candidates who expressed interest to contest the party primaries for Maun East constituency are Chris Bethia, Kostantinos Markus, and Reaboka Mbulawa. They are understood to have been cleared at branch level and that their current predicament could have only come at the central committee stage.

Mmegi had sought to establish with the affected candidates whether they have been part of that consultation process since the release of the candidature list in April. All of three were unwilling to discuss their predicament least they fall foul of the gag order the party leadership had recently placed against discussing party matters with outsiders. The fear of being vetted out of the primary race, even among the already cleared, is real However, some party activists, who are not contesting for any position, confided in anonymity to Mmegi and described the suspense or the central committee’s indecision as not only being unfair to the three candidates and general party membership in the constituency but also the party at large. They vented out their frustrations, pointing out that it is only their constituency that had been singled out, from a total of 61 constituencies, for the unfair treatment. One activist in the contentious constituency says they are still in the dark as to what could have informed the central committee’s decision to put them in such suspense. “This is incomprehensible. In comparison to other constituencies, Maun East has only three parliamentary candidates while in other parts of the country some have been allowed to field seven or nine candidates. Why then is the fear of instability being invoked in our case,” he queried.

He further argued that the trio have worked very hard to rebuild the party structures in the wake of the opposition mauling in the October 2019 General Election. “It is unfortunate that this is now how the party leadership chooses to repay them. They don’t deserve this kind of treatment,” he said. His fellow activist from Maun North highlighted that there is widespread despondency and anxiety in the party throughout country due to the ever-changing primary elections dates. “In addition to this untenable situation, our colleagues in Maun East have to deal with an even more devastating uncertainty of not knowing who will be participating in their parliamentary primaries. The unfairness of it all stinks all the way to the sky. Why single out Maun East for this unfair act,” he complained bitterly. His argument is that the Maun East crisis is negatively impacting on the seven constituencies in the North West Region to function as a collective. In Maun North, three BDP candidates are to slug it out for the primaries: Gakenosi Mpho, Ronald Ridge, and Thato Elias while in Maun West Thato Kwerepe squares off with Henda Uananisa. In the Ngami constituency the contest is between Mpepisang Tuyereke, Kavis Kario and Lelejwang Sokwe while in Chobe, Machana Shamukuni faces off with Paul Chabaesele, and Luckson Likokoto. Okavango East is to witness a contest between Cameroon Dina and Bagalatia Arone while in Okavango West, Sekwaya Pikinini takes on Akim Setswalo.

Meanwhile, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), which conducted its primary elections for council and parliament in October last year, will be represented in the general election by Dumelang Saleshando for Maun North, Goretetse Kekngonegile, Maun East and Carter Hikuama for Maun West. In Ngami, the BCP is fielding Philemon Aaron; Kenny Kapinga in Okavango West; Gabatsholwe Disho in Okavango East; and Simasiku Mapulanga in Chobe. The Alliance for Progressives (AP)’s two candidates in the region, Tiego Mpho and Victor Chika Liwena will contest for Maun East and Chobe parliamentary seats. The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC)-affiliated Botswana National Front (BNF) is fielding Kebadiretse Ntsogotho and Baraedi Lekabe as its parliamentary candidates in Maun North and Maun East respectively.

Editor's Comment
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We duly congratulate them to have ousted the long ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power. Prior to taking power from the BDP, the coalition had made several election promises that are credited for influencing change and swaying the people to vote in its favour.The party had made an undertaking, which its leader and President Duma Boko consistently bellowed in his campaign trail. These undertakings were promises that Batswana would be...

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