The women’s voting power and influence became her vehicle to victory then, but this time around, she did not play her cards right. Despite her best-laid plans, the outcome was not what was expected. Makwinja was, in the end, so near and yet so far away. Disembarking from the proverbial vehicle left her disoriented from a dizzying loss to Legojane Kebaitse, who stood between Makwinja and sweet victory. Before delimitation, Makwinja’s constituency was called Lentsweletau-Mmopane, but has since been renamed to Lentsweletau-Lephephe. The constituency now includes areas that were previously not part of it. However, this time around, she did not play her cards right as disembarking from the vehicle driven by the women’s movement and voting power overturned her fortunes. She lost with 1,032 votes to Kebaitse’s 1,358.
The intra party election in this constituency was contested by six members amongst them Obakeng Kgabo who got 899 votes, Masego Thantshane with 356, Kgopolo Lekuntwane with 352, and Kenalekgotla Sebolao who garnered 314 votes, trailing Makwinja and Kebaitse. Makwinja served as a Member of Parliament for one term after winning the constituency from Vincent Seretse, who was the area MP at that time, beating him by a margin of 45 votes. Seretse's appeal did not reach the party's central committee. Then, Makwinja had strong support from the women's groups who backed her win. This time, however, those same women's groups felt neglected when she became a Minister. They felt her presence was insufficient compared to when she was campaigning for the seat. Additionally, women in areas where Makwinja was expected to be strong believed she did not do enough house-to-house campaigns. They also felt that she should have devised a new strategy to try to win again, especially in key areas, once she realised she was losing her previous strongholds. Furthermore, the concentration of such voting power and influence is indicative of the women’s dominance in wards like Mmatseta and Kopong who swayed their votes in favour of her rival. When Makwinja's allies-turned-rivals contested in Mmatseta and Kopong, it gave Kebaitse an advantage. It became clearer that this time, any candidate from those areas would struggle to penetrate Lentsweletau, Lephephe, and Sojwe, as the people wanted someone from their region, which Makwinja was originally not.
