Mmegi

Trying year ahead for BPF

TSAONE BASIMANEBOTLHE

Despite the recent development where the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) warring factions buried the hatchet, troubles lie ahead in the coming year as the party holds its long overdue elective congress.

Before the recent reconciliation, the parties fought for the soul of the party, a conflict that led to the postponement of the elective congress which was initially scheduled for end of October this year. Now it turns out that the move to postpone the congress may backfire.

This is so because different political parties, especially the opposition, have started preparing for primary elections. Another thing is that parties which are cooperating for the 2024 General Elections have begun allocating constituencies amongst themselves. The BPF has joined the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) but sorting out its internal matters was a necessity before negotiating further for cooperation.

The BPF is expected to make its decision known regarding opposition cooperation next year between March and April. Therefore, the party will also be forced to announce the dates for primary elections. By the time the party goes for its congress, some parties would be far in terms of negotiations, campaigns and constituency allocation. So far, all the parties have announced that they are going for their primary elections next year.

Fights within the party have led to confusion about BPF’s membership of the UDC, which has allegedly been temporarily suspended. Some members had wanted the BPF to hold its congress this year to give the party ample time to prepare for the coming elections. However, others believe that reconciliation and postponement of the congress was a blessing to BPF as it will have a united and strong voice at the opposition negotiations table.

Mmegi has learnt that some members of the BPF want to be given constituencies in Serowe, Palapye, Sefhare/Ramokgonami, one in Selebi-Phikwe and some in the southern part.

A source within the UDC told this publication that developments within the BPF are a welcome move because all they ever wanted was the party to resolve their differences. “We are happy with the outcome and currently the BPF leadership still recognises the UDC. Some do attend our events and they came to the dinner over the weekend. It is good to work with a solid party rather than a divided one,” the source said. The source added that the main objective of the UDC is to work together as opposition so that they take over government from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).

For his part, Serowe North Member of Parliament (MP), Baratiwa Mathoothe said people appreciate the way the party handled its misunderstandings. Mathoothe is the BPF MP and the party has four MPs. “The party National Executive Committee (NEC) will meet soon to map the way forward in preparation for the congress. The UDC issue will be dealt with at the congress since our party is committed to opposition cooperation. The congress will decide on the model because we want all the opposition parties to cooperate in the 2024 General Elections. We hope that all opposition parties will have a room to listen to us since they knew that we have been having issues to deal with. We will start negotiating with other parties after the congress,” Mathoothe said.

He said what is important is that there is peace within the party and the turn of events gives it an advantage in some constituencies. In addition, he said they are happy since they will be strong ahead of the 2024 elections.

Asked about their agreement with the BPF, the UDC spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa said the UDC has an agreement with the BPF on conditional membership that was entered into on August 8, 2021. “In the agreement that we have, the BPF is to take this agreement to its congress for ratification. The agreement also included the setting up streams as follows; constitution, policies, constituencies and ward allocations. We appreciate the challenges that the BPF has been going through which have affected the pace of our cooperation. Ourselves and the BPF are committed to ensuring that conclusion on the above assignments are concluded as soon as possible. An early conclusion will assist us in the timeous preparation for the general election,” Mohwasa further clarified.

The two BPF factions, one led by former president Ian Khama’s family through BPF president Biggie Butale and the other by former Tati East MP, Samson Moyo Guma, have been battling for the control of the BPF for months. The majority of those who are viewed to be sympathetic to Guma are in the NEC. Contacted for comment, Butale said their congress will be held before some parties go for primary elections.

“As for us, we plan to preach peace among opposition parties so that they cooperate in the coming general election. We want one opposition party to face the BDP either in terms of pact or coalition. There is still room for all opposition parties to cooperate and agree on the model they are intending to use. As BPF we will give all opposition parties proposals of how we can work together. We need each other for us to take government from the BDP since we cannot win if we are divided,” Butale said.

Butale has been reinstated as BPF president after being suspended and later brought back as an ordinary member.

Politics

en-bw

2022-12-09T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-09T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://enews.mmegi.bw/article/281547999928638

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