Applause for peaceful Serowe West by-election

The Monitor Editor | Tuesday July 11, 2023 06:00

The vacuum occurred when then Member of Parliament, Tshekedi 'TK' Khama, decided to go on self-exile in neighbouring South Africa and as a result missed two consecutive parliamentary sittings, leading to his disqualification in the National Assembly.

Many people wondered why this time around there were so many law enforcement officers as compared to the other by-elections.

While we are not trying to justify that, logically one would have thought it is necessary to have law enforcement officers present, considering the drama that surrounded the elections. While there were no major incidents, there was a commotion at the Lady Khama Centre Polling Station where supporters of some political parties charged at police officers, citing intimidation.

The issue of whether armed law enforcement officers were supposed to be there is a topic that can be argued either way for another day.

The important issue is that as Botswana, we continue to hold elections smoothly without any incidents of violence. Yes, we do have our issues, but we still enjoy a certain level of peaceful elections! There are many African countries which unfortunately experience chaos each time they hold elections, most of which result in loss of lives.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) should be commended for trying its level best to give voters in Serowe West good service. There were unavoidable incidents, but IEC did not shy away from the challenges and tried to address problems as they arose.

All the political parties tried their level best too. In the end, it was Botswana Patriotic Front’s (BPF) Onalepelo Kedikilwe who triumphed by a huge margin. Kedikilwe enjoyed the support of the former MP, TK, as well as former president Ian Khama, and the Umbrella for Democratic Change and Alliance for Progressives.

In every competition, there is bound to be a winner, and as such congratulations are to the soon-to-be sworn-in Member of Parliament for Serowe West, Kedikilwe and his party, the BPF. Kedikilwe won the constituency with a huge margin as he garnered 2,933 votes followed by Botswana Democratic Party with 1,267 votes in second rank. The Botswana Congress Party got a measly 103 votes. The other contenders also deserve a round of applause for not being sore losers. They seem to have accepted the results without reservation and that is commendable, as it is very common in political circles for those who did not win to cry foul.