The elections failed to take-off after a dispute between the party and its former youth leader, Gabriel Kanjabanga. The lawyer went to court to compel the party to declare him as the BNF candidate in the constituency because his rival, Lemogang Ntime was not qualified to stand for primary elections in the area. However, the High Court recently dismissed Kanjabanga's application with costs, paving the way to hold primary elections in Gaborone North.
The secretary general of BNF, Mohammed Khan said the central committee met on Sunday to discuss the Gaborone North issue and other pending cases. He said it was agreed that the party should conduct parliamentary primary elections in the constituency. The BNF has always been haunted by primary elections disputes in Gaborone North. Just before the 1999 general elections, party activist and former Gaborone lawyer Patrick Kgoadi protested that his rival, Michael Mwzinila was not qualified to contest the primary elections in the constituency. Kgoadi's argument was that as a former convict, Mzwinila was not eligible to contest the general elections.
