Francistowners, go and vote

Correspondent | Friday January 24, 2014 15:31

Masisi was a man who believed strongly in the basic tenets of democracy, among them and especially the freedoms of speech, expression and association as the cornerstones of a democratic state. He was a man of the people whose departure has left many an aching heart. Nevertheless, life must go on.

The Francistown West by-election comes after an unprecedented postponement that was based on a fraudulent petition formulated by thugs extraordinaire belonging to the ruling Botswana Democratic Party who remain steadfast to derailing the poll because their beloved candidate, Ignatius Mosaane, has been disqualified. The postponement has not only inconvenienced the people of Francistown West; it also came at a huge cost to the parliamentary aspirants who have had to dig deeper into their pockets to woo the electorate.

But because there is always a silver lining in every dark cloud, we are heartened that Batswana benefitted from the machinations of the BDP because the intrigue served as an eye opener to the real nature and character of the kind of government that they have had for nearly 50 years. We are now all alert to the huggermugger that is could be brought to bear on the general elections later this year, should Domkrag fail to address the disputes that arose from its primaries.

It could get worse because it is not unthinkable that the President may withdraw the writ of election on the strength of any caprice, including the need for his chopper to be serviced so that he may traverse the air campaigning for Domkrag.

We hope that after what the nation was subjected to over the past two months, the people of Francistown West will turn up in their numbers to vote despite the absence of one of the candidates. It is unfortunate that the man was done a hard deal when his very own party sought to undermine the importance of its own rules.

  Members of the BDP should thank Moswaane’s opponent, Whyte Marobela, for approaching the courts that ruled in his favour after concluding that he had been treated unfairly when he complained of irregularities in the primaries that made Moswaane victorious.

Members of the BDP should also understand that it could be any one of them in future being ignored inspite having strong cases against their opponents. We hope that those in the central committee of Domi have also learnt from this debacle and desist from taking anything for granted.

 It could be a candidate complaining about three ballot boxes, a senior party member boasting that it is their time to eat, the President overruling court decisions or not attending international gatherings, and a minister disowning the wrongs in their ministry. The list is endless, but what is important is to listen to the complainant, whether or not you agree with them.

 

                       Today’s thought

 

      “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

 

                           – Martin Luther King, Jr.