mmegi

By-election candidates reveal playbooks

BCP members PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
BCP members PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

FRANCISTOWN: It will be a three horse race for the vacant Mapoka-Nlaphkwane by-election that was occasioned by the death of Farai Bonyongo of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) earlier this year.

Bonyongo had won the ward in 2019 with 692 votes. He was followed by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), an independent candidate and Botswana Patriotic Change (BPF) with 356, 321 and 176 votes respectively.

The political dynamics in the ward have now changed. As such, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), an affiliate of the Umbrella for Democratic Change), will slug it out with the UDC. The BCP has been consistently losing recent by-elections to the UDC which also consists of the BPF, the Botswana National Front (BNF) and the Botswana People’s Party (BPP).

Editor's Comment
Gov't, unions must find common ground

The situation is exacerbated by the ruling party’s admission that some of its most important election promises remain unfulfilled. This is not the change many Batswana had expected. The UDC was elected into power on a strong promise to improve lives, create jobs, protect workers and repair public services. It is therefore, not enough for the party to point only to new ministries, policies and long-term plans. These may be necessary, but...

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