The BCP, which won a historic 15 parliamentary seats in the recent election, is confident that the voter who tasted blood in the October election could give the party a chance at government. For the first time since 1966, the voter removed the former long-time ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), and installed the coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) as the new rulers. The BCP, formerly an affiliate of the UDC, is banking on the new government to make blunders in the next five years and give the voter a chance to seek an alternative. The BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando, recently told his party members in Palapye that the voters after 12 elections managed to experience what they had never experienced before. “For the first time the voter knows that their vote can remove a government from power,” the Leader of the Opposition (LOO) pointed out.
He compared Batswana voters to someone who has been playing with an AK47 gun only to realise later that it has a trigger, is loaded with bullets and can shoot. Speaking in a meeting where the BCP was doing the election post-mortem, Saleshando said people should not be shocked if Batswana in future elections pull the trigger more often. Saleshando added that the gun-wielding voter is already facing a party, which made promises it knew it could not fulfil. The Maun North legislator added that if a ruling party fails to do its job, as the BCP they will be ready in 2029. “In 2019 the voter chose the BDP and told the UDC to get ready for power in 2024 if the former fails. This past election, the voter chose the UDC and told the BCP to get ready for power in 2029 if the coalition fails,” he added. He said the BCP is ready for its chance in 2029 because the voter is always ready to pull the trigger. He said they are entering an arena with the UDC and after five years the voter will decide which party has done better. Saleshando said the voter’s eyes will be everywhere in the next five years from Parliament to council. “In councils where the BCP has control, the voter must see, feel and smell a difference,” he told the BCP councillors who had attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, the BCP Vice president, Taolo Lucas, told Parliament this week that going forward Batswana should continue with the new voting behaviour. “When the time has come for the ruling party to leave please remove it,” he said. Lucas said Batswana should not hesitate to remove an arrogant and prideful party from power. “We have to thank Batswana for voting and in the process removing the BDP from power. The BDP had overstayed and had to go,” he said.
Lucas emphasised that in a democratic setup, a party has to be given a chance to govern and after some time it should be removed. Lucas said now everyone should do what they have been voted for, therefore, the UDC must rule while the BCP opposes. Lucas said as the BCP they are going to be strict in their duties as the main opposition. He clarified that because the BCP was once a member of the UDC the former would not treat the latter with kids gloves. “We will provide robust oversight because this is politics, not a love affair,” he said.
