Following the release of the election writ for the Serowe West constituency, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) region has given itself three weeks to find a compromise candidate or go for the primary election.

The decision was taken after BDP secretary-general (SG), Kavis Kario and party chairperson Slumber Tsogwane held a meeting with the party leadership in the constituency on Sunday. The constituency became vacant after Tshekedi Khama was disqualified from Parliament for missing more than the stipulated three consecutive meetings without notice.

“It is true we had a meeting with the BDP chairperson Tsogwane and SG Kario and its purpose was to inform us about the vacancy in our area. They were simply informing us on what we should do as the structures especially concerning party procedures when there is a vacancy like this,” BDP regional chairperson for

Serowe West, Serame Gaerobale said in an interview this week.

“They were reminding us of what is supposed to happen as party procedure and the importance of abiding by Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) rules and regulations. Of course, the SG also wanted to know if party structures are active in all the wards since this election involves all

wards in Serowe West constituency.”

Gaerobale said they believe that the lower structure, which is the branch committee, should have completed the issue of the vetting process if they have more than one persons who are willing to contest for the area. He said time for the campaign is so limited and also they do not want to compromise the process to select a capable person to represent the party.

In addition, he said they believe that those who want to contest will consider the fact that the election for the area MP will be held on July 8, which is near. He said they believe that within three weeks they would have submitted either the name or names of those willing to contest on behalf of the party before the party central committee.

He said if they decide to go for primaries, they had asked those who may want to contest, to hold clean campaigns. On the other hand, Kario said the purpose of their visit was to tell the leadership of that area the importance of winning the constituency and also the party procedure.

“As the BDP we want to win that constituency from the opposition party. This used to be our stronghold and we still have members who believe in our party. If our members could work together and cooperate then we do not have a doubt that indeed we will win.

Party processes are critical and we do not want a situation where processes are compromised as it affects the election and makes members unhappy at the end,” Kario said. He said the Political Education and Elections Committee (PEEC) will also visit the area after the constituency has finalised its process to ensure that elections are done freely and fair. He, however, said he hopes that the members would take the party’s interest into consideration when making some of the decisions. On the issue of reconciliation amongst members, Kario said the BDP members in that area are united and some who had gone to the opposition parties are rejoining the party.

Kario indicated that one thing that affects their party during by-elections is the failure of some members to cooperate while some leak party internal issues to the opposition. He said they are doing everything in their power to ensure that peace prevails in that area.

Serowe West constituency has been one of the BDP strongholds for more than 50 years and it only lost it to the opposition when former president Ian Khama and his brother Tshekedi left to form Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF).