Having been in the opposition trenches for decades now, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) president, Dumelang Saleshando, has said they will do their best to execute their mandate as the main opposition party in the country.
He said they take up their role unapologetically as they have a responsibility to hold those with majority seats accountable.
Saleshando said several times after an election, people would say a good leader had been voted in and should not be opposed. He said it happened during Ian Khama and Mokgweetsi Masisi’s presidencies. He also said the same is being said about President Duma Boko that he should not be opposed.
“Democracy doesn’t work like that. The moment you have a nation agreeing that it should subdue all other voices and only allow one to be heard, you are preparing the ground for a dictatorship. We will be very objective critiques of the government and we will place alternatives on the table. We will use our numbers in Parliament and present laws and motions that we know the UDC supported before they got into government and we expect those laws to be passed,” he said.
Saleshando said there was no time to extend a holiday to the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). He slammed the ruling UDC for delays in completing their ministerial appointments, adding it was a worrying trend that Boko is in charge of 12 ministries as there are no ministers.
“I think you should expect us to point out such things when we see them happen. It is not out of any desire to make the government fail. It is to urge them to do better, and I will add that when they deliver on their pledges, especially those that we supported, they will have our full support in Parliament,” he said.
In performing their duties, Saleshando said they would be changing the manner they have been working as opposition in Parliament. He said they would announce a shadow cabinet operating on the floor of Parliament.
“The BCP legislators will be tasked with presenting alternatives to the UDC with proposing changes that could make laws put before Parliament better, proposing a shift in policies that could help move the country forward,” he said. At the same media briefing, Saleshando announced that Ramotswa legislator Boniface Mabeo will be the party’s parliamentary spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Saleshando said it was not an easy General Election in which they wanted to win 31 constituencies.
“We had wanted to win 31 seats. That was not a fluke. We planned and went around going flat out for 31 constituencies. To the extent that we did not get them, we are disappointed as a party,” he said. He however said looking back, they had improved their standing as the BCP in Botswana’s political landscape. Saleshando said about two years before the elections, they almost did not have a party after bolting out of the UDC.
“In 2022, we had a messy divorce with the UDC which was necessary. There was a total onslaught on the BCP by our former partner the UDC. A lot of our representatives whom we trusted to lead in the campaign went against the party.
“We lost four Members of Parliament and 35 out of 65 councillors who remained with the UDC. So we had to mount a very strong campaign, firstly to reclaim our bases and also spread out to other parts of the country,” he said adding that they were proud of their achievement.
The Leader of Opposition said they celebrate that the BDP was out of power. Saleshando said he was also happy that it had been proven that a weapon used against the BCP that opposition parties could not take power in isolation had been dismissed.
“It was a weapon used relentlessly against the BCP and it has now been banned from Botswana politics,” he said.
Saleshando stated that with the new government, Batswana have tasted the true power of their votes. He said those who have not been voting saying no change would come now know that voting is important.
He said as the main opposition, they have 15 MPs and 123 councillors which is a huge achievement for the party. For this, he thanked voters who went out to vote for the party and their candidates who went all out to share the BCP dream.
On the running of the elections, Saleshando said they were not entirely happy with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
“On the eve of elections, we had to run to court to seek several orders which were not successful. But on the main ground to try to compel the IEC to avail a soft copy of the voters roll and the panel of judges were not in agreement with one of the three agreeing with us,” he said.
Out of this case, Saleshando said there was an issue that they decided was not to be ignored. He said one of the grounds advanced was that IEC must avail the voters roll and avail it on their Facebook Page.
“The Secretary of the IEC informed the court through an affidavit that the IEC does not have a website. But I know they have one which I have used many times before. After the affidavit was placed before the court, the website was brought down. However, the IEC attorney conceded what was in the affidavit was not truthful. The party has since decided to report the Secretary of the IEC as it is a crime to utter untruths under oath. We will be reporting to relevant authorities,” he said.