Phage scooped 234 votes while Phale got 161. Now Phale is understood to have written a letter to the BCP accusing Phage of rigging the polls. Reports say she is complaining that the elections were not free and fair. She is allegedly accusing Phage of voter trafficking by registering many people from outside the ward, mostly from Mogoditshane, to come and vote for him. She asserts that her opponent got assistance from a suspended member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) related to him. The BDP man is said to be opposed to the party candidate Christopher Sebego.
Reports say Phale feels that some sections in the party leadership handpicked Phage for the ward. There are allegations that Phage has been campaigning for the 2009 general elections in the Ledumadumane ward. Although the BCP is understood to have erected three polling stations to make voting convenient, Phale is complaining that the system provided an opportunity for cheating. Phale refused to comment on the matter and referred queries to the BCP secretariat.
BCP Secretary General Taolo Lucas dismissed the reports of rigging as untrue and baseless. "I have received a briefing from the electoral team and according to them, the elections were free and fair," he said.
However, Lucas acknowledged that the party had received a letter from Phale protesting against the outcome of the elections. "Such letters shall be attended to by the relevant party structures," stated Lucas. He defended Phage's move to Mmopane ward pointing out that the party regulations allow members to stand anywhere they wish.
