Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services Dr. Kefentse Mzwinila won the BDP primaries for Mmadinare constituency after attracting 1,760 votes. Molebatsi came second with 1,263 votes while Barulaganyi Mogotsi was third with 503 votes. It was sweet revenge for Mzwinila who lost to Molebatsi at the 2018 primaries to book candidacy for the 2019 General Election. However, immediately after the weekend election results were announced Molebatsi’s camp objected. Molebatsi’s representative, Kemisetso Manowe, stated that their camp does not accept the results owing to certain irregularities. Manowe added that the reasons will be articulated in a complaint letter that will be filed at Tsholetsa House, the party's headquarters. Mmegi has since established that Molebatsi has filed an official protest with the party and is demanding fresh elections.
Yesterday, Molebatsi confirmed that he has filed a letter disputing the weekend primaries. He however, declined to explain the reasons why he has lodged the protest. “I will be in breach of party procedures if I am to divulge the reasons for my protest to the media,” he said. However, Mmegi has established from close party sources that chief amongst Molebatsi’s complaints is that a high number of voters were barred from voting. Sources reportedly claim that over 6,000 people majority of whom are Molebatsi's supporters were denied the chance to vote last Saturday because their names did not appear on the final voters’ roll. The sources told Mmegi that even Molebatsi’s parents, whose names appeared on the draft voters’ roll, did not vote as they found that their names were omitted from the final voters' list. On Saturday afternoon, voting in Mmadinare appeared to be going smoothly as compared to other areas across the country where there were pronounced instances of voters missing from the official list of voters. However, at the main counting centre at Makome Junior Secondary School, Molebatsi’s supporters suggested that there were many people who were denied the opportunity to vote. They even raised allegations of vote buying against Mzwinila’s camp. Speaking publicly for the first time since the elections, Mogotsi also expressed his frustration with the way the weekend elections were handled. “I will not file a protest with the party. However, my main worry is that many of my supporters did not vote. Hundreds of people especially the elderly who have backed the party for years are not happy because they did not vote. This is not a true reflection of what the people wanted. I will not blame voters for my loss but the voters roll,” he said. Despite suffering a second loss at the BDP primaries, Mogotsi maintained that he is not throwing in the towel yet.
