the monitor

Behind Dikoloti's victory

Dikoloti.PIC.KENNEDY RAMOKONE
Dikoloti.PIC.KENNEDY RAMOKONE

Every political loner has a sympathetic voter lurking nearby. This is evident in Edwin Dikoloti's success story, as he secured a parliamentary seat despite being suspended from his former once-dominant party.

Remarkably, Dikoloti triumphed in a large constituency of 21 councillors, without any local councillor backing him. Winning a parliamentary seat without party support is no easy feat. Dikoloti now stands as the second Member of Parliament to achieve this, following Nehemiah Modubule of Lobatse in 2009. In an interview, his campaign manager, Roderick Mogotsi revealed that sympathy votes played a crucial role.

Many constituents felt that Dikoloti had been wronged, fuelling the narrative that the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) deserved punishment. Moreover, Dikoloti maintained good relations with his former team. Mogotsi said that all campaign team members had resigned from the BDP, providing them with valuable local data. They didn’t start from scratch; instead, they garnered support from former BDP sympathisers, as not everyone was aligned with Peggy Serame. Mogotsi further explained that some former BDP members who had once collaborated with Dikoloti during Bulela Ditswe felt unwelcome and chose to support him again. Only council candidates who backed Dikoloti remained in the BDP, allowing his team to effectively monitor the BDP's movements, thanks to their established connections. The campaign strategy was robust. They relied on house-to-house outreach rather than traditional rallies or launches. "We won without a launch or a rally," Mogotsi emphasised.

Editor's Comment
BPF should get house in order

Speaker of the National Assembly, Dithapelo Keorapetse, has this week rightly washed his hands of the mess, refusing to wade into a party squabble that has no clear leadership and no single version of the truth.When a single party sends six different letters to the Speaker’s office, each claiming to be the authoritative voice, it is not just confusion, but an embarrassment.Keorapetse is correct to insist on institutional boundaries. Parliament...

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