Seitiso eyes 2024 election bid under UDC
Chakalisa Dube | Monday June 24, 2024 13:34
Seitiso recently ditched the ruling party amid intense reports that he was pushed out. He has since joined the Botswana National Front (BNF), an affiliate of the UDC. In April, Seitiso was vetted in to be amongst the contestants for the ruling party primaries but decided to quit the party recently. Prior to the completion of the vetting process, he had expressed desire not to contest the primaries but later changed his mind. Insiders have told Mmegi that Seitiso was recruited to the BNF under the condition that he will be given a waiver to contest the 2024 General Election. “I am now a life member of the BNF. Talks have already started with the UDC leadership with the possibility of fielding me as a parliamentary candidate in the Nata/Gweta constituency at the General Election. I am very confident that by the time the UDC unveils its manifesto in July, the talks would have been completed,” he said.
He added: “I have always been steadfast about my desire to serve the people of Nata/Gweta as a Member of Parliament (MP). I understand their plight and I believe I have the qualities to represent them as an MP,” he said. Should Seitiso secure candidacy for the 2024 General Election under the UDC, the development will be a massive blow to the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). The party ditched the UDC a few months ago. However, the BPF is reportedly hoping to leverage on the support of some UDC members who are said to be willing to compromise and vote for the party in the event that the coalition does not field any candidate in the area. Both Lawrence Ookeditse and Thatayaone Kehitile, who will battle it out at the primaries to choose a candidate that will represent the BPF at the 2024 General Election, are said to be still very sympathetic to the UDC.
Before leaving the coalition, the BPF was allocated the Nata/Gweta constituency to contest in the general election. Seitiso further told Mmegi that he left the ruling BDP because he felt unwanted. In the main, he alleged that some of those holding key party positions in the Nata/Gweta constituency seem to be favouring certain candidates ahead of the party primaries billed for early July. “I felt that even if I were to win the primaries or General Election, I would not be offered the necessary support. This is because the party leadership appears to be favouring certain people ahead of the primaries,” he said. Seitiso’s defection comes just two weeks after he, along with Polson Majaga, Oliphant Mfa, and Montshiwa Montshiwa, who are vying for the party primaries in Nata/Gweta, officially complained to the party’s (Nata/Gweta) branch chairperson, George Maphane, about branch committee member, who “are openly campaigning for Benjamin Radihepi.” Radihepi, mixed animal veterinary practitioner by profession is said to be President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s blue-eyed boy.