Ice cold scramble for the Central District

The takeover of some constituencies by the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) from the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in 2019 can be described by some as ‘ice cold’ with an emoji emphasis. Like Polaris over the North Pole, the BPF remains fixed on the Central region with essentially no movement despite the BDP’s promise of a brighter star in the region’s night-time sky.After enduring the BPF frostbite for five years, the BDP grabbed their red blanket and headed to Serowe and Palapye this past weekend hoping that the yellow ‘Ke nako’ permafrost has thawed just in time for the upcoming October polls.

But the BDP’s ‘Jeke’ literally met some cold front when the BPF counterattacked and showed the ruling outfit that what was done in 2019 is no milder form of cold injury. It was an intriguing sight as the BDP and BPF switched places on Saturday and Sunday to hold star rallies. By countering the BDP, the BPF wanted to make sure that the frostbite patron and former president Ian Khama left on the ruling party five years ago does not get better with rewarming. The BPF wanted the BDP to remain with that numbness and stiffness.