The two had a feisty battle for the constituency in 2019. Makgato, who returned to Botswana following completion of her ambassadorial duties last year, won the highly contested election, defeating Derrick Ramaano by 2,690 to his 1,510 votes. The ever-bubbly, feisty and outspoken former Cabinet minister is amongst the few BDP women who will contest in the upcoming general election. Makgato, who lost the parliamentary seat for the area to Gobotswang of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) in 2019, has booked another date with the latter during this year's general election.
The former minister of Health will not need any motivation as her 2019 loss to Gobotswang marked a bad history record for her and the BDP as they lost the area for the first time to opposition. In 2019, she was up against a combined opposition bloc which included BCP, Botswana National Front, and Botswana People's Party, as well as former president Ian Khama's Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). For the upcoming election, she will have to navigate through two men, Gobotswang, whose party has left the opposition bloc, and Shadreck Baaitse of the Umbrella for Democratic Change. Before her victory in the Saturday election, Makgato had expressed optimism about the BDP's chances to reclaim the constituency despite her long absence in the area. "I'm very optimistic about our constituency. However, right now my focus is on Bulela Ditswe. I can only talk about the future once we are through with this and tell you exactly what is there for us but I'm very optimistic," she earlier said.
Prior to the 2019 elections, Makgato was involved in an exchange of words with a BPF patron during campaign rallies. In the end, she lost the constituency after just five years as its MP, making it a historic win for the opposition as they took the constituency from the BDP for the first time since Botswana was born. After the election, Makgato said she had decided to take a bullet and stand up against the abuse of women. “The very simple reason I say I was prepared for it is, I am sure you know the dynamics and the determining factor in these elections is, I decided that given where this country wants to go and what was happening, I am going to bite the bullet for all of you and say the truth in the manner that I see it no matter what the circumstances are, especially against the abuse of the Constitution in particular by the former president.
"If the consequence of that action is that the people of this constituency decided not to vote for me, then let it be,” she said. Meanwhile, in Tswapong North, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Setlhabelo Modukanele will have another chance to defend his seat after winning in the party primaries. Modukanele won the election with 2,892 votes to Gabogopole Sebele's 2,294 and Dumalane Jeremiah's 370.
