Ahead of the Serowe West by-elections, political parties yesterday (Friday) hosted final star rallies with the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) pulling the largest crowd and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) drawing the smallest gathering.
The BPF, which Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) backs, had in its presence party president, Biggie Butale, UDC president Duma Boko, and other leaders. Former president and BPF Patron Ian Khama also participated in the proceedings via video connection. Throughout the rally, various speakers expressed how badly the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) is abusing the Khamas, so the ruling party should be punished.
About a kilometre away, there was the BCP star rally with just a handful of people in attendance. Defending the move to contest, the party's vice president, Taolo Lucas, told attendants that they could not work with BPF and UDC because things in the coalition are not done accordingly. BDP held its star rally and faired much better than the BCP in terms of numbers in attendance, however, far less than that of the BPF. Meanwhile, the polls started this morning with Onalepelo Kedikilwe representing the BPF, Moemedi Dijeng vying for the parliamentary seat under BDP, Sebusiso Ngwenya contesting on the UDC ticket, and Kefilwe Koboto running as an independent candidate.
