Securing 1,014 votes, Manake who was contesting her first ever election beat area veteran Opelo Makhandlela in the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) primaries. Makhandlela was previously BDP’s MP candidate in the area in the 2014 General Election and managed only 859 votes. The weekend Bulela Ditswe triumph didn’t come as a surprise because it is said that Manake had been visible in the area months before the elections and had been positioning herself. What the Phikwe residents disclosed during the election is that they have seen more of Manake than Makhandlela and that the former has been engaged in almost everything in the former mining town.
Manake didn’t just win against all odds, but she also managed to fend off a social media campaign against her. There were seven wards at stake in Phikwe West but Manake managed to win five of them which showed that she was far ahead of her opponent on the ground. Manake who is the patron of the biggest football club in Phikwe, Nico United, is said to have amassed votes from the premier league outfit. Besides Nico, Manake was everywhere from social clubs to non-profit organisations. One of the BDP members said over the past few months, Manake has canvassed the area and won the hearts of Phikwe residents in a way that no political newbie has ever done before.
