Negotiations stall as BPF, AP fight over constituencies
Mompati Tlhankane | Monday October 30, 2023 06:00
The constituencies that have stalled the talks are Francistown East, Bobonong, Lerala/Maunatlala, Tonota and Boteti East. Besides the five contended constituencies, the other thing that has stalled talks is negotiations over new constituencies that were necessitated by the delimitation exercise.
After deserting cooperation talks with the BCP earlier this year to seek an alternate route with the UDC, the AP now finds itself in the same situation, a source closer to the negotiations has revealed. Speaking of same situations, the AP dumped their talks in May this year after fighting with the BCP over seven constituencies.
When the AP joined the UDC cooperation talks, the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) splinter party revealed then that they wanted to find ‘a horse that can pull through’ together towards the 2024 General Election. The AP president, Ndaba Gaolathe, then indicated that they were looking for an imperfect relationship with the 11-year-old opposition coalition.
While there is still time to save the talks this time around, the BPF is said to have arrived late for the talks only to find other partners, the Botswana National Front (BNF), the Botswana People’s Party (BPP) and the AP in advanced stages. It is said that now the BPF is demanding the majority of the constituencies currently held by the AP and a few held by the BNF. The BPF has been in turmoil since last year with two powerful factions of the party incessantly at each other’s throats.
Power struggles between ousted president Biggie Butale and Ian Khama-backed faction led by current president Mephato Reatile have led to the two frequenting the courts of law. The source further said the BPF, after arriving late to the negotiation table, is now demanding most of the constituencies in the Central District and have also extended their reach to the south where they do not have much footprint.
“All decisions are taken in South Africa, everything that is discussed in the table is decided by former president Ian Khama, both parties are at loggerheads and it is delaying the process,” the source said. With the two deadlocked over wards and constituencies, the fear is that if no compromise is made then the UDC could lose yet another partner as the future looks bleak for the already divided opposition. Asked to explain the alleged scramble over constituencies, UDC president Duma Boko during a media conference this week gave vague answers and chose to be evasive on the matter. Boko was quick to indicate that everything was shockingly going well in the negotiations.
“There is mutual respect in these negotiations, we are 90% done,” he emphasised. He added that the good thing about the negotiations is that there were no leakages of information. “When we enter into negotiations, everyone brings their interests forward and after putting them all on the table, we start discussions using the principles that we have agreed on. There will be situations where we won’t agree on certain things but we always go back to negotiate further and agree,” he disclosed. He said in the rules of engagements in negotiations, one fundamental principle is that no one will come out of the talks the happiest or the saddest. Boko said they will make announcements at the right time because they do not want to ruin things. Teams tasked with handling talks over the allocation of constituencies met on Thursday and party secretaries are yet to consult and make the final determination.