For many years, the opposition was popular in Gaborone and surrounding urban places and major villages with the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) playing second fiddle including in other urban centres.
The Botswana National Front (BNF), the main party in the UDC coalition partnership, had enjoyed great support in Gaborone’s constituencies of Gaborone Bonnington North, Gaborone Bonnington South, Gaborone Central, Gaborone North and Gaborone South. At some stage, the BNF was popular in the neighbouring Kgatleng constituencies, Molepolole, Kanye, Lobatse, including Jwaneng-Mabutsane and others. There was a time when the BNF was also in control of councils in the urban areas in the south, in particular. The BNF as an entity had strong structures in the majority of the areas in the southern part of the country than it was the case in the north of Dibete cordon fence. In fact, the BNF’s major split in 1998 that birthed the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) after a party tumultuous event in Palapye weakened the BNF structures in the north of Dibete creating an imbalance in the party presence as the party leadership seemingly concentrated their efforts in the south. Now, with the 2019 General Election results literally wiping the BNF off from the southern territory, the party was left with no stronghold after all.
