The sham that was BNFWL elective congress

As if not to be outdone by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) chaotic bulela ditswe on the eve of the 2024 general election which process is credited with contributing in no small measure to the demise of the BDP, the Botswana National Front Women’s League (BNFWL) did not disappoint in emulating or even surpassing the BDP. To rub salt into the sham BNFWL elective congress, the structure’s President Cde Monica Molome whose election is still a dispute under process, was introduced to the general public through a press conference on Wednesday. I wonder why she would allow herself to be introduced as the winner when her win is still contested by some of her Comrades with whom they competed.

Ordinarily, elective congresses should not be highly contested events because they are not processed through the whims and caprices of certain individuals but through well-defined processes and procedures in terms of the Constitution and principally, applicable regulations tailor-made for the conduct of elective congresses. Credible elections are run on key requirements some of which are verifiable voters roll available to all those it may concern, party membership identification and a credible body to adjudicate on matters of dispute should there be any. On the day of the election, these requirements are authenticated to ensure that the rightfully mandated people vote to elect people to positions they are standing for. Any elective congress short of these key requirements stands to descend into a sham as is the case with the elective congress under discussion.

Elective congresses are political party events conducted via clearly laid down Constitutional provisions of political parties and the BNF is no exception. Or so I assume. With respect to the BNFWL, the structure was well aware that in 2025 as per the provisions of its Constitution I want to imagine, an elective congress will be held. Considering the similar sham that obtained in the 2022 BNFWL elective congress where acrimony defined the said congress, one would have thought this year’s congress would be run through the prescripts of laid down processes and procedures given the acrimonious template that obtained in the 2022 congress. But lo and behold, the script repeated itself spectacularly and dramatically.

It turns out that an agreement of sorts was crafted for the running of this year’s elective congress thereby departing from the said laid down processes and procedures. For all intents and purposes, such agreements whether accepted by all the contesting lobbies would run roughshod over acceptable requirements as laid down in the BNF’s Constitution and relevant instruments for elective congresses. In the process, internal party democracy which is the bedrock of any functioning political party whether at structural or national level, is left to the whims and caprices of those politically connected to determine the preferred outcome.  One does not have to go far back into history but to make reference to the shambolic 2024 BDP bulela ditswe where the laid down processes and procedures governing bulela ditswe were thrown out of the window for temporary political convenience.

A compelling question should be asked: where was the BNF National Elections Board, a body charged with the mandate and responsibility of ensuring BNF elective congresses comply with laid down processes and procedures when evidently, every procedure was trampled upon all the step of the way. From what one gathers from the interview conducted by one of the mainstream newspapers with the head of the Elections Board person, the said head blames the outgoing Women’s League committee for sleeping on the job by failing to ensure all the necessary due diligence in the preparations for the elective congress were put in place.  The Elections Board head is quoted as having said “It’s surprising that some individuals who were part of the former committee are now pointing fingers. As the Elections Board, we had previously warned against registering delegates at the congress itself….There’s simply no way to run elections without a verified voters’ roll.” The bitter truth is that the buck ultimately stops with the Elections Board as it is the sole custodian of ensuring elective congresses are held in compliance with all relevant instruments. If the Elections Board head is genuine that the registration of delegates at the congress floor was improper and un-procedural and that there was no verified voters’ roll, it goes without saying that the disputed BNFWL elective congress together with its purported outcomes should be invalidated and a proper congress convened.

While it appears the dispute has been declared by the losing lobby group, it is reasonable and fair to suggest it is pretty clear to me that the decision to declare Cde Molome the winner is as good as concluded. The fact that she has been unveiled in the press conference on Wednesday notwithstanding the lodged appeal as the duly elected President of BNFWL and the fact that she herself has stated publicly that she and her committee are in the process of awaiting a handover from the outgoing committee puts the final on the fate of the appeal.

Without saying it, the sham that is the disputed BNFWL elective congress will have a direct bearing   and semblance on the upcoming national elective congress scheduled for July 2025.  It is not hard to suggest the disputed outcome of the Women’s League leadership will have a big say in the said July congress in terms of violating the very instruments that are crafted to ensure unhindered participatory democracy and fairness are not only upheld but seen to be so upheld. It should not be a big ask but in an organisation synonymous with kangaroo-like setups, it becomes the norm.

When all is said and done, it is evident the BNF as a political party takes inner party democracy for granted given the recent past disputes on elective congress outcomes mainly out of procedural and other related matters. The Elections Board has become a toothless body that does not appear to take its mandate seriously given that the recent Women’s League elections descended into a sham under its nose to the extent that a disputed candidate was publicly unveiled while the dispute is yet to be resolved. It cannot become as shambolic as it has become palpably evident and nothing suggests it will become any better, anytime soon. It is so embedded that it has become the political DNA of the BNF. What a shame! I am prepared to be lynched as hard as it can be and, I am prepared to be persuaded otherwise as always. Judge for Yourself!

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