LAGAGO TAMOCHA
In a rare show of unity, opposition political parties in Botswana have united to fight what they term ‘any attempt by the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to rig the upcoming 2024 elections’.
The Patriot on Sunday has it on good authority that the parties have set aside their differences, albeit temporarily, and will soon announce a strategy to preserve electoral integrity and safeguard democracy in Botswana. These developments follow an impromptu meeting convened by the leadership of the opposition parties in Gaborone, CBD on Tuesday where they discussed collaborative efforts to prevent election rigging by the BDP. Only Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) was not represented at the meeting as they had sent an apology.
“It’s true we had an ‘All Opposition Parties’ meeting today (Tuesday) from 0930HRS at Hilton Garden Inn in CBD that was initiated by two Secretary Generals of opposition parties. The purpose of the meeting is to come up with ways we can try and deter the IEC and the BDP from rigging elections, as it is clear in their intentions. Why would the IEC embark on a supplementary voter registration exercise so soon before we even get the chance to inspect the voters roll and after their “benchmarking” exercise in Zimbabwe? We have no intentions of boycotting elections but we will be meeting again next week Tuesday to come up with a plan of action,” said an anonymous source.
Head of Communications for the coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), Moeti Mohwasa, and Botswana National Front (BNF) Secretary General, Ketlhalefile Motshegwa declined to comment, denying knowledge of the Tuesday meeting. Attempts to get a comment from the BCP Publicity Secretary, Dr Mpho Pheko and Secretary General, Goretetse Kekgonegile proved futile at the time of going to print.
Contacted for comment, Secretary General for Alliance for Progressives (AP), Dr Phenyo Butale could neither confirm nor deny that they met other opposition parties. He, however, said if such a call is made, they will be among the first at the table. “We feel very strongly that all Batswana, all opposition parties, NGOs and even ordinary citizens should ensure that elections are credible. At the moment, the IEC has not done much to gain Batswana’s trust. Their violent refusal to allow opposition parties to observe the voter registration process and then benchmarking from a discredited Zimbabwe Electoral Commission are all signs that they cannot be trusted,” he quipped.
Asked if boycotting elections is an option, they consider viable, Dr Butale said they do not want to be pre-emptive in how to move forward if their fears of election rigging are not addressed. He, however, said if a consensus decision is made by all opposition parties, they would consider it.
Notwithstanding such denial, The Patriot on Sunday was aware that the opposition parties were planning to issue a joint statement announcing their working together for a common purpose against the IEC and government.
Thorny path
The meeting was held to discuss how the opposition would collectively navigate the thorny path towards the October 2024 elections that have been marred by controversy from last year that saw the voters’ registration exercise postponed twice! They are of the opinion that the rigging is going to take place during the supplementary phase of voters’ registration which is slated for February 26-March 5.
Already the opposition has decried that the IEC fabricated and inflated numbers of the registration exercise that was done from January 5th to February 3rd. Opposition parties are also skeptical of supplementary registration being limited to Molaodi offices as they say it further disenfranchises an already apathetic citizenry and it is thus imperative that they have believe in addressing these issues is their best game strategy.