The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) says there is an ongoing brazen attempt by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) to destabilise it by poaching its councillors. This comes after the party lost some of its councillors to the UDC recently.

The BCP, a coalition affiliate, fell out with its parent body last year over governance issues and has now made it clear that it will not contest next year’s general elections under the UDC.

Its decision to leave the UDC has left a majority of the party representatives in a dilemma especially councillors who have to decide between the two as election year nears. While councillors are continuing to resign, legislators have mostly made up their minds following the BCP quartet which was expelled by the party last year.

The four Members of Parliament (MP) are the Leader of Opposition (LoO) and Selebi-Phikwe West MP Dithapelo Keorapetse, MP for Palapye Onneetse Ramogapi, MP for Nkange Never Tshabang, and MP for Mahalapye West David Tshere. The BCP originally had 11 MPs in Parliament before all hell broke loose but now it only has seven following the readmission of Okavango legislator Kenny Kapinga.

The latter was initially expelled alongside the quartet by the BCP national congress last year. With the BCP MPs having made their fate, except if there could be a change of heart as political winds shift, some of the BCP councillors have been resigning to join the UDC.

The UDC national executive committee (NEC) at its meeting of May 6, 2023 set May 31, 2023 as a deadline for sitting councillors and legislators to express interest in contesting the 2024 General Election under the UDC ticket. UDC president, Duma Boko had long promised that representatives who submit the expression of interest would automatically become the party’s candidates in the 2024 General Election.

The BCP leaders initially said they were not worried about the councillors’ resignations because the said councillors wanted to avoid primary elections by getting automatic spots. Following the weekend BCP leadership forum held in Palapye, the BCP now says the UDC has made attempts to destabilise the party by poaching its councillors. The BCP is currently stuck in the coalition as it cannot afford to trigger by-elections because of a new piece of legislation that prohibits Parliament floor crossing. The BCP has always rejected automatic spots for incumbents saying ‘it has disregard for its member’s democratic rights’. With some BCP councillors joining the UDC to avoid the torrid experience of primary elections, the BCP will assess their losses after the deadline which ended Wednesday this week.

Contacted for comment, UDC spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa told Mmegi this week that the UDC has not poached any councillor from the BCP. “The councillors who have resigned from the BCP are UDC councillors. The councillors are merely responding to an attempt by the BCP to destabilise UDC and delay regime change,” he pointed out.

Asked if they are targeting BCP councillors now that the BCP has made it clear that they will not contest next year’s general election under the UDC, Mohwasa said what they did with the latest ultimatum is merely allowing those that have had their party abandon the national call to have the opposition parties unite to continue serving the national project.

“As indicated before, our focus is on two things. Firstly to unite all those who are opposed to BDP misrule and secondly, to effect regime change in this country and usher in a better life for all,” he said.

Mohwasa, who was sketchy about the developments after the May 31 deadline, said the UDC has more than achieved the set target and is happy with the response from representatives.

BCP joined the UDC in 2017, and contested the 2019 General Election under the coalition but a law which prohibits floor crossing in Parliament has been keeping them in a marriage they despise. Currently, BCP has no relationship with the UDC other than the fact that they are council and parliamentary representatives under the coalition.