Botswana will go to the polls in less than three months. The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) is the only party that has thus far launched its manifesto-a move that was lauded by political observers. Political observers are of the view that for a party to perform well in an election, it has to craft a manifesto that articulates a clear vision and policy direction for the country. In contrast to the BDP, the BCP primaries were not marred by logistical challenges. The BCP also registered a few primary objections which it managed to swiftly resolve within a reasonable time. The country’s main opposition party, Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), a coalition of the Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana People’s Party (BPP) and Alliance for Progressives (AP), is also battling demons of its own. Some of its affiliates, BCP and Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) have pulled out of the coalition.
There is also a looming threat of double fielding of candidates between some of the UDC contracting parties which need to be urgently resolved while little time is left before the next general elections. Analysts posit that these intraparty conflicts between the UDC contracting parties will be the undoing of the coalition in the forthcoming general elections and will hand BDP victory. All the while, critics recently latched onto the BDP after it tried to table three infamous Bills: Presidents (Pensions and Retirement Benefits) (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Bill No. 12 of 2024); Former Vice-Presidents (Pensions and Retirement Benefits) Bill, 2024 (Bill No. 13 of 2024); and Ministers and National Assembly Gratuities and Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Bill No. 14 of 2024). Following intense pressure from the public and opposition parties, State Presidency Minister, Kabo Morwaeng withdrew the tabling of the Bills saying that there was need for further consultation. Adjectives such as “greed” and phrases like “day light robbery” were some of the words that were used by the detractors of the BDP to discredit it and its leadership following Morwaeng’s plan to table them during the ongoing winter session of Parliament. While there is nothing wrong with attacking the character of opponents in politics, Jeffrey Jarman, a Whichita State University US professor in the US who specialises in political communication, posits that campaigns should be more about policy issues and less about character assassination. "Candidates who spend too much time talking about the issues of their opponent will always face a more difficult time winning the election," said Jarman. Jarman said this recently in the midst of the heated US political campaigns which pit old foes, Republican Party and Democratic Party. Jarman said if the Democrats are serious about winning the US elections in November, they should focus less on attacking Republican nominee Donald Trump’s character but should focus more on policy issues.Trump is fond of attacking the character of his opponents.
While it was plausible for some sections of the BDP supporters to be in panic mood because of the backlash the party attracted following Morwaeng’s controversial bills, how it conducted its messy primaries which it is still trying to address, and with only a few days left before the next general elections, its leadership is undeterred.
When asked if the BDP is not worried that it is yet to launch its manifesto whilst the elections are just around the corner, the Secretary General (SG) of the BDP, Kavis Kario, was upbeat that the BDP will win the forthcoming polls. He said that there is no way how a confused, directionless, divided and an infighting opposition will dethrone the BDP from power. Kario also described the opposition bloc as confused ragtag organisations that lack the political acumen to take power from the BDP. Kario said: “Our manifesto is ready but we are yet to launch it because we are still dealing with some internal issues that need to be urgently dealt with before the manifesto can be launched. We assure Batswana that despite the challenges that the BDP is currently going through, we are ready to win the upcoming elections. We are hopeful that we will finish resolving issues that were caused by our recent primaries in about a week or two. This will then pave the way for the party to launch its manifesto.” Probed if the BDP is not concerned that it will not have enough time to articulate its political agenda to the electorate, Kario hailed the BDP track record. “We have restrategised. Since the last general elections in 2019, we have come up with well articulated strategies that resonate well with voters. The electorate should remember that we could have achieved more but our plans were disrupted by the outbreak of COVID-19. President Mokgweetsi Masisi has come up with the Reset Agenda and also introduced the Transitional National Development Plan. Through this plan we managed to connect water in a lot of places around the country. We also managed to bring to more than 80 percent of households in Botswana. The president scrapped the connection of electricity fees. We have also introduced agricultural programmes such as Chema Chema, Temo Letlotlo and Thuo Letlotlo, among others, that are geared towards improving the lives of Batswana and the nation at large,” he said. Despite the fact that the BDP currently finds itself engulfed in political doldrums which Kario downplays, analysts opine that the acquisition of Banyana Farms-a state owned farm by Masisi-is one of the things that have the potential to erode the BDP’s electoral base.
Asked to comment about the issue, a University of Botswana (UB) political analyst, Professor Zibani Maundeni said: “Primary elections require political parties to conduct them early enough to be able to deal with complaints. Failure to do so, compromises a lot of things, including delays in fielding candidates, delays in campaigns, delays in launching manifesto. Above all, delayed primary elections expose the party to heightened factional rivalry due to unresolved issues. A political party experiencing all these cannot be fully prepared for the coming elections, including raising campaign funds. These give rivals the chance to do well in the elections, provided that they've solved their own thorny issues on time and successfully. We may be staring a hung parliament in the face.”
