Over the past weekends, the party’s regional congresses have been grappling over whether or not party primary elections known as Bulela Ditswe should be held in constituencies where the BDP is incumbent. While some regions strongly advocate the democratic process to take course, on the other hand, there are those who feel the party cannot afford to enter into divisive primaries months before the 2024 General Election. Among the regions pushing for the primaries are Gaborone, South East and Kweneng. One of the participants at the Gaborone regional congress at the Rainbow Primary School was overheard saying: “Primaries are there to enhance inner-party democracy. All of us here occupied offices through the vote. Primary elections must be held. What is it that some people are fearing? Why should members compromise when they can elect their own preferred candidates? Sometimes voters punish us for opting for compromise when they wanted a different person to represent them.” But Mmegi understands that some regions in the north hold a different position. “Their argument is that primary elections do contribute a lot to their divisions during polls. Therefore, the party should minimise all things that could bring divisions among members in the constituencies. Their fear is that the party should not downplay the fact that opposition parties are strong in some of the constituencies even if they are divided,” a source had said.
Some BDP members strongly believe that there is not enough time to allow the process to run smoothly since it has its own challenges. However, the BDP secretary-general, Kavis Kario confirmed that Tsholetsa House has received motions that will be debated at the party national council. “I cannot remember the number of the motions but all those were coming from our regions. All the 14 regions have managed to hold their congresses. Those motions will be debated and some will be passed while some might be rejected. It does not mean that all motions that were passed at the regional congress automatically will go through to extraordinary congress or special congress. There is nothing wrong with BDP members engaging and expressing their views. The truth about our members is that we debate issues in-house. If we agree on the matter, we all support the matter,” Kario said.
