As he leads his political organisation to its third consecutive polls as president, Boko is still convinced that the 2019 General Election were rigged. His claims are despite the Court of Appeal (CoA) having dismissed UDC’s election petitions in early 2020. UDC Molepolole North candidate is Arafat Khan. Speaking over the weekend at the launch of Arafat Khan, who is UDC’s Molepolole North candidate, Boko said that if Masisi or anyone attempts to steal the October 30 polls, there will be trouble. He said Masisi believes they will allow him to cheat like he had allegedly did in 2019. “There is no time or opportunity for cheating in the upcoming elections,” added Boko, who is still skeptical of the electoral process and fearful of the alleged massive rigging. He said they had long asked the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to give them an electronic voter’s roll but the latter refused. The UDC leader disclosed that they have since converted the voter’s roll into a digital one using technology. “We are with them all the way and issuing a stern warning to the IEC. Should they try anything to steal the elections, they will be putting their lives in danger,” he emphasized, adding Batswana are tired of BDP’s cheating ways.
“We even told BDP MPs that their party cheats and they didn’t believe us. There are former BDP legislators like Oabile Regoeng, Billy Buti and Molebatsi Molebatsi who refuted their party’s cheating ways, but now they are crying after being cheated in primaries. “Many are crying about cheating in the BDP,” he said. He told those who attended the rally that it was their responsibility to ensure that any kind of rigging did not happen. “After voting don't let your vote be manipulated, protect it,” he implored the comrades, adding everyone should be part of Madibela Tlhopho. Madibela Tlhopho is an official coalition group or arrangement endorsed by the UDC National Executive Committee (NEC) and a project under the office of the UDC president, Boko. It was conceived to protect the electoral system. Boko told Madibela Tlhopho in Molepolole that if they were not satisfied with the voter’s roll during polling day then they should stop the voting process. “The law allows you to stop the elections if the procedures are tampered with. UDC will install lawyers everywhere to make sure that the police or DIS doesn’t intimidate or abuse anyone. We will use the law to protect our votes,” he said.
Boko has always remained adamant in his belief that the 2019 General Election were rigged by the BDP. In January 2020, the CoA dismissed with costs 14 UDC election petitions. The petitions were dismissed citing a lack of jurisdiction. The UDC had petitioned the court and contested the outcome of the elections citing “irregularities in some of the constituencies”. Before the CoA judgment, the petitions were dismissed by the High Court a day before Christmas in 2019. Boko’s stolen election claims were discredited by judges in election petitions that failed to overturn the election result. He has been talking about the IEC’s alleged rigging without pause in the past five years since losing his parliamentary seat to BDP’s Annah Mokgethi in 2019. Boko has indicated in the past that he has lost confidence in the ability of the IEC to conduct credible and fair elections. Boko alleged that there were a lot of irregularities that happened under the IEC’s watchful eye in 2019.
