Opposition Romps To Victory

Crowd at the opposition Rally on the eve of the by-elections
Crowd at the opposition Rally on the eve of the by-elections

The weekend by-elections in Palapye and Tsabong North that delivered a comprehensive opposition victory and relegated the ruling party, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), to the margins, had all the hallmarks of the 2014 national elections.

The atmosphere on the eve of the election seemed to favour the opposition.

On the eve of the weekend by-elections that saw the UDC and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) snatch both council wards, Boikaego-Madiba and Tsabong North respectively, the National Junior Certificate (JC) results were announced.  They once again painted a grim picture of the state of education which only managed a 32% pass from the close to 42,000 JC students that sat for the exams.  The anger that fed from this fresh fodder was enough to cause damage on the BDP’s chances of winning.

Editor's Comment
A promising step for public schools, but...

For too long, the state of many public schools has been a source of shame. We have all seen the pictures and heard the stories of broken windows, unreliable water and electricity, topped by classrooms that are not fit for proper learning. The establishment of the Education Infrastructure and Management Company Ltd (EIMC) signals that authorities are finally ready to take this problem seriously. We must commend the government for this initiative....

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