BPF defers elective congress to 2025
Chakalisa Dube | Monday February 20, 2023 06:00
The decision was reached at the party national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Tuesday although it was reportedly met with an element of disapproval from a few members most notably former president Ian Khama who is now the party patron.
According to insiders, the consensus at the meeting was that the elective congress can divide or leave the party as a polarised entity and ultimately disrupt preparations for the 2024 General Election.
It is reported that NEC members resolved that the party should shift its focus on embarking on a peace building process, preparing for the general elections, and solidifying its working relationship with the other Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) partners. “The party patron (former president Khama) was totally against the idea of postponing the congress.
He maintained that the mandate of the current executive has elapsed. He also maintained that it is against the party constitution to postpone the elective congress,” a high-ranking source told Mmegi. It is reported that some members of the NEC countered Khama by telling him that the extraordinary congress will make a final determination on the matter.
This is the second time that the BPF had postponed its congress. In October last year the party postponed its congress to focus on reconciliation. At the time the party was going through intense factionalism.
Then, the party indicated that the elective congress would be held sometime early this year. The BPF has been battling factionalism for months and there are those who believe that the move to postpone the congress is an attempt to thwart Khama’s ambitions of ensuring that his preferred candidates take over the control of the party. There is a section of some BPF supporters who also reportedly want Khama to be president of the party although sources say it is highly likely that he will challenge for the position.
Instead of holding an elective congress, the party will reportedly go for an extraordinary congress which its main purpose will be to ratify the BPF’s decision to join the UDC and engage on other recommendations made by the NEC amongst others.
“The congress will be held at the end of April,” an insider said. Mmegi has also established that one of the agenda items at the NEC meeting was Tshekedi Khama’s continued absence from Parliament. Tshekedi is on a self-imposed exile in South Africa and his seat will be declared vacant if he does not totally attend the current Parliamentary sitting, as he would have missed three sittings in a row.
He is said to have told other NEC members that he is exploring the suitability of coming home before the end of the current Parliamentary sitting. Another key decision that was taken on Tuesday was that the party should start participating in UDC activities particularly NEC meetings. For some time, the party has not participated in UDC activities owing to its internal problems.
“The party president Biggie Butale has been given a mandate to engage leaders of other parties in the UDC. The purpose of the engagement is to pave way for the full participation of the BPF in UDC activities.” BPF spokesperson, Lawrence Ookeditse told Mmegi that the party took some key resolutions at its Tuesday NEC meeting. He said they will be communicated publicly soon. Although he did not want to go into details pending a press release, he emphasised that all decisions at the NEC were taken through a consensus. “In every meeting there will be differences, but what matters the most is that we met and all decisions were made as a collective,” he said.
He added that the idea to defer the congress was taken in the interest of the BPF, the UDC and the nation. “The idea behind the peace building process is to stabilise the BPF. It is important to take a stable BPF into the UDC. A stable UDC will be of great benefit to the nation,” he said.