Dow’s MP seat still safe after BDP exit
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday May 22, 2023 06:00
Dow resigned from the BDP on Tuesday, the party that had nominated her in as a Special Elected Member of Parliament (SEMP).
Had she crossed to join another party in Parliament, she would have been forced by the recently introduced floor crossing law to resign her seat. “Dow is not joining any party rather she will be an independent candidate. Her resignation cannot be considered as floor crossing. Dow will be taken as an independent candidate in Parliament. A motion cannot work if brought against her,” said Associate Professor of Law in the department at the University of Botswana, Tachilisa Balule.
He said the elected member or a SEMP of the National Assembly shall become vacant which includes upon dissolution of Parliament, if he or she is absent from the sittings of the Assembly for such period and in such circumstances as may be prescribed in the rules of procedures of the Assembly and subject to the provisions of subsections (2) to (3) of this section. He said if any circumstance arises that, if he or she were not a member of the Assembly, would cause him or her to be disqualified for election thereto of the constitution of Botswana.
He said Dow will remain MP until her term ends or if she resigns from Parliament. Balule said Dow can only be disqualified if she does something offensive. In an interview with Mmegi this week, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Pono Moatlhodi said; “Dow remains the MP like any other member. She will operate like any other MP in the House. She has chosen to be an independent candidate hence she is safe from her seat being vacant. She made a smart move if I may say so because if she could have joined another party then it would be a different story.”
However, Moatlhodi said if another MP may bring a motion calling for Dow’s removal, then it would be debated like any other motion in Parliament. Moatlhodi, however, said the matter will be discussed when it reaches Parliament but cannot make any assumption on what could happen.
Moatlhodi said he would not block any motion that an MP might want to bring in Parliament but it will be up to the Member to support his or her motion which others will debate on. The Tonota legislator said it must be noted that Dow’s move is different from when one crosses the floor to another party but she can be disqualified if she does a grievous mistake like any other MP.
Dow’s troubles with her party started when she was removed from her Cabinet post in 2020. In November 2021, Dow angered the BDP leadership when responding to the State of the Nation Address (SONA). She then expressed fear that the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) had derailed from its core functions and therefore, must be subjected to a Commission of Inquiry and look into its policies, regulations, activities with a view to examining the reasons for the failings of the current accountability mechanisms.
She said Botswana was approaching a deep pit and if ‘we are not careful as a country we will fall inside the pit’. “Re mo letshitshing la lemena. If there is anyone who does not agree that DIS is a law unto itself then, I don’t know which country they come from,” she indicated. Dow said the law that came into effect on April 1, 2008 created a creature (DIS) and the same creature formed by the government has led to the latter failing to deliver good governance.
Since then Dow was never a favourite in the ruling party circles and ahead of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) congress in August last year in Tsabong, Dow was heard in a leaked WhatsApp voice note (VN) telling BDP legislators that she is facing death threats and intimidation ahead of the Tsabong congress. In the leaked VN, Dow pointed out that new people in the BDP administration are the ones who brought about the pre-election intimidation and harassment culture to the ruling party. She said the new people brought ‘mischievous, devious, devilish’ behaviour. Dow blatantly told BDP MPs that they are cowards who will choose to look away. Dow singled out Facebook pseudo account, France Museveni as the main architect of pre-election intimidation tactics.
Dow at the time was running for the deputy secretary-general post against Dr Lemogang Kwape who was the preferred candidate of the BDP leadership. Kwape ultimately won in Tsabong. In Tsabong, Dow said the harassment and allegations made by Museveni that they were hiding loads of cash at their camp sabotaged their efforts to get donors. But things got worse for her few months ago when she turned down an offer to become a member of Pan African Parliament (PAP) and replace Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who was alleged to have resigned. The party's parliamentary chief whip, Liakiat Kablay wrote to the party disciplinary sub-committee that Dow has gone against the party caucus and continued to tarnish the party’s image on social media.
The party caucus is said to have been held on March 14, which actions or behaviour Dow denies have brought the party’s name into disrepute. Dow’s response, which was all over social media, had attracted debate within her party as some believed that the MP had crossed the line by leaking the letter to social media while the case was still before the disciplinary committee.