Mmegi

Ice cold scramble for the Central District

BDP members in Palapye.PIC.KENNEDY RAMOKONE
BDP members in Palapye.PIC.KENNEDY RAMOKONE

Whistling whirlwinds emitted cold air like there was an ice stream gurgling over underground rocks. This was no fantasy television show but ‘winter was here’ in Bagammangwato over the weekend as political parties assembled in the Central District in what was an ice cold pursuit of votes, writes Mmegi staffer SPIRA TLHANKANE.

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.

Editor's Comment
Boko should stop the fighting and start the delivering

With his theme of 'Delivering on Our Promise, One Step at a Time', he sought to project an image of a focused, determined leader building a new ‘Rome’. Sadly, parts of his speech were not about laying bricks, but about settling old scores.It is deeply worrying that a head of government would use such a pivotal national address to launch another bitter broadside against the media and his political detractors. His portrayal of the...

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