The finishing line
Ryder Gabathuse | Tuesday October 29, 2024 09:19
In the race for the highest office in the land is Dumelang Saleshando of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Mokgweetsi Masisi of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) vying for the second term, Mephato Reatile of the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) and Duma Boko of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
By the end of this weekend, there will be no more political ‘beauty contests’ as no more time is left ahead of the national polls billed for next week Wednesday.
Batswana are waiting with bated breath to hear and see what party presidents have in store for them as they wrap up their campaigns that were seemingly taciturn in nature. The 2024 General Election campaigns lacked the gusto, oomph and the zest; hence thus far, political rally enthusiasts are still hungry to be fed with elections year politicking.
A political party is as good as its leader, therefore, as for the quartet of 2024 presidential candidates, the ball is in their courts to strike the right cords with the masses to amass the requisite numbers that can take them to the State House, by winning more parliamentary seats.
It is unfortunate that the aggression that politicians often employ in an endeavour to win the hearts and minds of the people has generally been lacking this time around. People are yet to endure the raucous sound of car-mounted horns blaring the cacophonous electioneering notes and sending the well packaged message home.
In this journey to the 13th Parliament, a lot has to be done when putting the final nails to the proverbial coffin that will send pertinent messages that could sway undecided voters to their sides.
The fight for this year’s polls seems to be no different from previous polls with parties making endless promises through their manifestos geared at resolving long standing challenges of the masses. It seems the electorate is ready to hold the political leaders to firmly account.
In Botswana, there is no direct election of the President. The party that has amassed more legislators during the General Election makes up a government and endorses its presidential candidate who had succeeded in presidential nominations.
A desultory analysis of the parties’ promises suggest to some extent that, focus is on similar issues if not just the same points of discussion, year in and year out.
During elections year, Botswana’s political parties launch election manifestos to pomp and glory, filling up stadia and other places, spending lavishly on a one day event that often times fail to solve people’s long standing troubles.
It is a norm locally also that party presidents lead the pack in unveiling proposed policy changes when presenting new manifestos in the year of the elections, leaving the public heavily laden with information that they will have to consume and expect to comprehend and appreciate within a short space of time. As the heads of respective political parties, presidents have often times failed to create time to educate the masses on party policies beyond the public rallies’ rhetoric to enable voters to make informed choices based on reality. During the campaigns, political parties often miss out on important feedback that could inform them of the real needs of the people, provided by the targeted masses.
Recently, the social media was abuzz with questions raised by a son of one of the presidential candidates (opposition) shocked by the number of jobs the party had claimed it would create just in the first year of obtaining power. Creating an interactive platform with the electorate at the height of campaigns can provide a healthy understanding of issues packaged by the political parties.
Often times, some political leaders feel insulted when they are challenged by the informed electorate to show how they have arrived at certain figures and solutions carried in their manifestos.
Speaking to the University of Botswana (UB) public policy analyst, Adam Mfundisi this week, he reiterated that the majority of elected MPs determine who ascends to the presidency. He hastened to note that the President of Botswana enjoys intensive and extensive power in the governance of the country.
“Those who determine who gets the presidency eventually become subordinated to the President. An unelected President becomes the shaker and mover of governmental business and operations. The President is the bedrock of Botswana government, superseding the Legislature which chooses him for the position,” he posited further indicating that separation of powers in Botswana is a myth rather than a reality endangering the country’s representative democracy and the rule of law.
The personalised character of Botswana’s presidency, Mfundisi said, makes it imperative to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of presidential candidates. He also indicated that in Botswana’s political system, it is fundamental to interrogate candidates standing for ‘presidential elections’ because this office enjoys immeasurable powers in the political system. Botswana does not have a tradition of collective leadership but a ‘personalised’ nature at the helm of government. Therefore, the character and leadership of a person who serves at the apex of the governance structure is vital. There have been a quantum expansion of the scope and influence of a President in public policy.
Mfundisi observed: “The Botswana Constitution has endowed the President with extreme discretionary powers, veto power, appointing power, Commander-in -Chief of the army, chief diplomat and others. Therefore, for the Office of the President, we need a person imbued with certain qualities for effective leadership.”
Mfundisi feels that Botswana on October 30 should vote for a visionary leader who has the capacity to envision a brighter future for Botswana amidst endowment of natural resources of various kinds.
“The President must provide long-term goals that harness the resources we have, including the human resource, which provide intangible benefits to the development of the country. A President should possess character and personality that engender enthusiasm and a motivation to lead and succeed. And must inspire and guide the team towards the achievement of a shared vision,” he noted.
He also holds a view that a presidential candidate to succeed as President should possess effective communication skills (verbal, written, formal, and informal) to appeal to the hearts and minds of the people. To him, Presidential leadership should be anchored on effective public communication.
Mfundisi also emphasised that the presidential pulpit requires eloquence shown by the clergy, television and radio broadcasters, motivational speakers and others.
He also pointed out that a President should stick to the script to avoid veering into the wild. Public addresses are one avenue for the ‘President to remain in the good graces of the public’. A President must measure his or her words as the public views him as the father of the nation. Also must avoid at all costs partisanship, polarising and divisive behaviour in the public domain. Therefore, s/he must manage his emotions in order not to undermine his public performance.
Mfundisi, who is also a lecturer in politics and administrative studies at the UB, said emotional intelligence dominates the political landscape as presidents are expected to possess intra-personal and interpersonal relational skills to be effective political leaders. He quipped: “Presidential candidates should be judged on their ability to know self and know others’ emotions, feelings, needs, interests and aspirations. Self-discipline, self-management, social skills, self-control, etc. must be in the arsenal of presidential candidates for them to be effective at the helm of government.”
To him, political skill matters in the presidency or people aspiring to be presidents. A presidential candidate, he said, should be politically savvy to galvanise, build and maintain public support. Should have character and leadership to create a reputation of being a skilled and determined political operative destined for greater public good. Political adeptness in facing adversaries and challenges is bliss. Presidential pragmatism works too.
For a presidential candidate to be successful in the presidency, the public policy analyst said he/she should be a critical thinker able to decipher complex issues into their component parts. He also holds a view that organisational prowess matters, indicating that a presidential candidate should build a team and motivate it to deliver quality services. It should be a leader who promotes critical thinking rather than mediocrity.
As the quartet presidential nominees round up their party campaigns, the UB senior lecturer in the department of Sociology, Dr Sethunya Mosime, expects Masisi to continue with “his recent loose cannon, sarcastic and self-praising rhetoric and go out of his way to be dismissive and condescending towards his competitors, especially Saleshando.”
“He will try to remind Batswana of Boko’s 2019 name-calling. From there he will list the numerous but economically weak programmes pursued by his party. His pitch is likely to be more of the freedom square type than presidential. His strengths will be that, the BDP remains a strong party”, opined Mosime.
After a rather long silence, Mosime expects Boko to hinge his last message around the unfairness of the elections and his Madibela Tlhopho campaign. Although the UDC seems to be gaining momentum, Mosime feels the party leader seems to be less confident than he was in 2019. She, however, expects him (Boko) to deliver the most thought provoking and measured campaign. She does not expect much change from Saleshando compared to the previous campaign. Coming from the most organised opposition party (BCP) will be his advantage. He, however, will need to breathe in some fresh perspective from what we have heard before, and shift his tone from the usual high fever and reactionary opposition stance to one of authority and command of a leader in waiting.
She recognises Reatile as a political stalwart, saying his party has been given a new lease on life by the return of former president Ian Khama, inspite of its ongoing internal struggles. Mosime said the party (BPF) has the least traction of the four parties. Reatile, she felt brings his experience into the campaigns, but fears he is likely to be trapped into the Masisi-Khama dead end politics.
“The BPF continues to be the spice of the campaigns but not much of a contender to the throne,” she concluded. Mosime further ranked the presidential nominees by order of strength:
1. Masisi
2. Saleshando
3. Boko
4. Reatile