BCP was part of a seismic moment that saw the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) unseating the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) after a 58-year rule. Although the BCP was eyeing 31 seats, which were needed to win government, the party which was formed in 1998 managed to garner 15 parliamentary seats, a historic feat. In this past election, the BCP has improved its standing in Botswana’s political landscape. For the first time in history, the BCP has increased the number of legislators to double digits, a figure they do not share with any coalition.
In their electoral debut in 1999, the BCP managed one seat and also secured the same in the 2004 General Election. In 2009 the party did quite well with its alliance with the Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) and they managed to scoop four constituencies. In 2014, it was a debacle among other considerations when it only managed three MPs with its president, Dumelang Saleshando losing his parliamentary seat. This was after the BCP opted out of the UDC. But the BCP later joined the UDC and won 11 MPs in the 2019 General Election.
The BCP entered the recent 2024 election as the most prepared party despite having only exited the UDC coalition officially in 2022. By holding primary elections much earlier, the BCP believed it had a selling point.
The party also indicated that it is a beacon of democracy compared to other political parties. In January, the BCP launched five women MP candidates to propel more women into Parliament and close the gender gap in political participation and representation. The party also launched its manifesto chapters and was the first party to finish candidates’ launches.
Despite all the seemingly attractive pledges of providing an unemployment grant of P600 per month and sustaining a statutory living wage of P4, 000 per month. On October 30, Batswana chose the BCP as the main official opposition party. As the winds of change blew for the first time in history, the lime movement managed to seal the entire North West while the UDC swept over the entire country leaving the BDP with only four constituencies in the south.
Immediately after the voter made the big choice, the BCP was quick to play their opposition role. And as the new UDC regime was warming their chairs, the BCP had none of that indicating that the UDC must get to work and start fulfilling everything they had promised the voter in their election manifesto.
While some BCP detractors opine that the latter was born to oppose, the BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando, who is also the Leader of Opposition (LoO), has emphasised that they are going to oppose the new government unapologetically. He said they will do their best to execute their mandate as the main opposition party in the country. As such, after the UDC win, Saleshando said there was no time to extend a holiday to the UDC and even slammed them for delayed ministerial appointments as well as the commencement of councils.
Saleshando said the election some have characterised as a political Tsunami, has fundamentally changed the Botswana political landscape. He indicated that “everyone is smiling, the nation is in a jubilant mode and anyone who dares to utter any word that does not seem to be aligned to the loud cheers, risks the collective wrath of the nation.” Saleshando, as a man who risked the collective wrath of the nation with his opposing remarks, said the scene resembled that of South Africa when the global icon, the late Nelson Mandela was elected to become president of South Africa in 1994. However, he indicated that someone has to do the job of oversight, “no matter the drowning noise of the celebrations for the new government.”
Saleshando said just like Tony Leon, who became the leader of the opposition when Mandela became president, he is going to lead the opposition benches and take on the job of opposing the UDC.
Last month Saleshando was quick to hit the ground running in his response to President Duma Boko’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). He expressed disappointment over the absence of UDC’s key campaign pledges from the SONA, including the introduction of a P4, 000 minimum wage and P1, 800 old-age pensions. He indicated that he gives the UDC 100 days to get their house in order and afterward, he would not treat them with kids’ gloves.
Recently when he spoke during the BCP’s election post-mortem in Palapye, Saleshando further pointed out that the promises were central to the UDC’s electoral victory. He also said what the UDC did was deceptive advertising because they promised Batswana what they knew could not be achieved under the current economic climate.
Now, the BCP’s role as the main opposition is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable. For the next five years, the party will play a crucial role in maintaining the democratic character of the system and providing a democratic political alternative in the National Assembly.
They will offer a sustained and principled criticism of the policies and practices of the ruling party. The BCP will keep the ruling party in check and balance power. They will uphold the accountability of government in the legislature and put forth public opinion in the Parliament. Strong opposition is necessary for the success of parliamentary democracy so the BCP will hold the government accountable and present the views of an alternative government.
The BCP has also been swift in its role because they have already appointed a shadow Cabinet as an oversight on the ruling Cabinet. The role of a shadow minister is to follow closely the areas, responsibilities, and activities of government ministers. The shadow Cabinet also must respond to government policy initiatives and offer alternative policies to the electorate.
Although the BCP has accepted its role as the opposition of choice, they remain hopeful as they journey towards 2029.
Their stance has changed since the UDC won the election and now the BCP believes that it cannot stay in the opposition trenches forever. But before the election, Saleshando told his members in Maun that if they do not get victory in the 2024 polls they will never win the following general election in 2029. They believe that now that the voter has tasted blood by removing the BDP, the same thing could happen to the UDC in 2029. Saleshando himself is convinced that the voter has changed and that the latter might give the BCP a chance in the 2029 General Election. The BCP also believes that by playing the opposition role perfectly, they will show the voters that they can be the alternate government if the UDC fails in the next five years.
