The UDC is made up of BNF, BCP and the Botswana Peoples Party (BPP). Over the years, scores of Batswana and analysts have bemoaned the fact that opposition parties have a tendency of fighting over trivial issues that lead to their breakup. This tendency, analysts have said has unnecessarily extended the ruling Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) reign of power when many have thought that time was ripe for the taking over of the governing of the country. The status quo has dismayed scores of opposition supporters who are longing for the change of guard at the upper echelons of government. Just recently and over the years, the opposition has been convincingly defeating the BDP in by-elections-a factor that has raised the hopes of supporters of the combined opposition that power was within their reach. As a matter of fact, the BNF and the BCP have a history of long simmering tensions that precede the recent Bophirima ward by-election fracas. However, the way things are panning out, history will once more repeat itself following the emergence of tensions over the position to be adopted by parties under the banner of the UDC at the framework for cooperation talks with the Alliance for Progressives (AP) and Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). The BCP has said that it is going to make solo submissions about which model of cooperation to adopt at the negotiations table with the AP and BPF outside the UDC. However, the BCP’s planned move is already causing hostility within the UDC.
BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando told Mmegi this week that the party’s decision to make its own submission at the cooperation talks is in order. This is despite the fact that other parties in the UDC maintain the contrary. He said that in March there was a meeting attended by presidents from all opposition parties (that have entered cooperation talks) where a resolution was taken that parties should make individual submissions. The March meeting was chaired by coordinator of opposition talks, Dr Margaret Nasha.
