BCP, AP undecided about coalition presidency
Mompati Tlhankane | Monday October 10, 2022 06:00
Already there are talks that BCP is likely to start the coalition as the holders of the top seat looking at a myriad of factors among others the number of legislators the party has in Parliament.
The BCP currently has seven Members of Parliament (MPs) after expelling four of their initial 11n while the AP has only one being Francistown South MP in Wynter Mmolotsi.
It is also said the BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando who wanted to be the president of the Umbrella for Change (UDC), a coalition the BCP is still part, is set to become president ahead of AP president Ndaba Gaolathe.
Before carving this new path with the AP, the BCP among other things complained about the failure of the UDC to hold an inaugural congress, which will elect a new leader in the UDC presidency.
Currently the UDC president is Duma Boko and it is a position he has held since 2012 when the UDC was formed. The BCP officially joined the UDC in 2017 and five years down the line a congress has not been held, something that frustrates the BCP and its leader, Saleshando.
Although the BCP-AP talks are at its infancy stage, there are reports that the two leaders have already decided on who will become founding president of the new coalition ahead of the elective congress.
Asked if they have started looking at the presidency issue, the BCP spokesperson Dr Mpho Pheko told Mmegi that with regards to who is likely to ascend to the presidency of the coalition, they wish not to put the cart before the horse.
“The reality is that negotiations officially started on September 24, 2022. This is one of the issues that the negotiating parties will apply their mind to. We promise to announce details of the collaboration model at the end of the negotiations,” she said.
Pheko said the BCP’s main argument is that the UDC is what its guiding tool (the 2012 UDC constitution) says it is. “The UDC constitution details how elections ought to be run.
Our query is the UDC’s tendency to disregard its own constitution and opt for an indefinite period of transition (abusing the transitional clause for more than 10 years). How can a serious organisation transition for more than 10 years?” she questioned. For her part, the AP spokesperson Mmaotho Segotso said it is too early to talk about who will get which seat. “Remember, the aim is the New Botswana not presidency.
And as with everything else, the presidency shall be revealed,” she uttered. Segotso added that the conveners and negotiators are working on everything to do with the New Botswana, democracy model included. She pointed out that the AP is for opposition unity but they do not believe opposition unity equals UDC. “The AP will work with other opposition parties as it did through the by-election MoU but it will not join the UDC,” she concluded.