UDC yield Serowe for BPF

The opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) was on Friday forced to make a hasty retreat and confirm Mompati Seitiso as their Parliamentary candidate in Nata-Gweta after earlier dropping him and endorsing Lawrence Ookeditse, the Secretary General of Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). Earlier, in a shocking development the UDC had declined to sign the nomination letter for Seitiso to be officially nominated by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as their candidate. Seitiso has been campaigning as UDC candidate and is scheduled to be launched next weekend by UDC president Advocate Duma Boko. Seitiso joined Botswana National Front (BNF) after he resigned from Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) before Bulela Ditswe and was fielded by UDC as its candidate. According to Seitiso, the UDC leadership

had a meeting with BPF and agreed to drop him in favour of Ookeditse of BPF. On Friday morning Seitiso confirmed that the UDC leadership informed him that his nomination letter would not be signed without giving any reasons. “I got such information at the last minute that the UDC will not sign my nomination letter. But for now, I have decided to remain calm and focus my attention to my business,” disappointed Seitiso said briefly in an interview. 

However, Seitiso’s fortunes changed later in the afternoon when he received the confirmation letter signed by UDC president Dumna Boko confirming his candiday for the coalition. He will now face off with Ookeditse, Polson Majaga of BDP and Chingapani Gwamba representing Botswana Congress Party (BCP). Contacted for comment, UDC Head of Communications, Moeti Mohwasa only confirmed that the national executive committee (NEC) had resolved to yield all three Serowe constituencies for BPF. 

Revolt 

Some aggrieved UDC members are reported to have forced the leadership to endorse Seitiso who was recruited from the BDP by the BNF leadership to represent them as parliamentary candidate without being subjected to primary elections they had failed to identify a candidate. 

The UDC anticipates that as the then influential former BDP figure in Nata-Gweta constituency, Seitiso will sway many members from the ruling party to its fold in its bid to win Nata-Gweta. Prior to his resignation from BDP, Seitiso and other Bulela Ditswe candidates had written to the BDP leadership raising complaints against some members of BDP structures in Nata-Gweta whom they accused of campaigning for president Mokgweetsi Masisi’s favourite Dr Benjamin Radihepi. Dr Radihepi and other seven candidates lost Bulela Ditswe to Majaga.