The BPF held primary elections in a number of places in the Central District a fortnight ago including the hotly contested three Serowe constituencies. Only one parliamentary candidate was declared a winner: Baratiwa Mathoothe of Serowe North owing to failure to conclude elections in the Serowe South and Serowe West constituencies due to allegations of gross electoral misconduct. Non sanctioned ballot papers were discovered, some reportedly thrown in the nearby bushes. As if that was not enough, in some areas some candidates allegedly swapped voters rolls. According to Reatile, a team has been dispatched to investigate the whole circus with serious repercussions awaiting those who were involved in the matter. "This has greatly affected our planning towards the elections. It is a very serious matter that ought to be investigated properly and a report be brought so that we can map a way forward," Reatile said.
He further said the actions by those involved are very serious and that the punishment should equal the culprits' doings. He said as people who want to represent others, it is unacceptable that they do what they did as it would mean they are not fit for public office. Despite barring them from standing for elections, Reatile said since the crimes are severe, criminal cases could be opened against perpetrators. Despite Mathoothe being declared a winner for Serowe North, in Motetshwane Ward within the constituency, while there were 601 voters on the roll, the total number for council votes was more than 800. The votes for the parliamentary candidate were, however, not tampered with. Final results for the Serowe North parliamentary candidate were released on Sunday morning while those for Serowe West and Serowe South were delayed.
It would come to the fore that in Malatswai, counting was not done and boxes had to be transported to the main counting centre at the Mmualefhe Primary School in Serowe. This was after party members stormed the polling station at night and broke down a door. Five of the eight polling stations had submitted their results with no explanation for other delays. A shocker would emerge as some people from Serowe South arrived at the centre with damning allegations about the conduct of the elections. They alleged that in most Serowe South wards, especially the Manonnye Primary School, it was said some fake ballot papers were discovered in the vicinity. Also, ballot boxes from the constituency were not delivered to the counting centre. It was alleged that they were taken by some of the candidates to their houses. Segaetsho Garekwe, who was the principal returning officer for all three constituencies, confirmed that they received some reports and materials alleged to have been fraudulently produced from some areas.
That said, the delays in the release of results for some areas was due to difficulty reconciling ballots and voters rolls. Though Reatile could not commit when they would be done with their investigations, Mmegi has learnt that there could be re-runs on the August 17 where all those who pulled equal number of votes in some wards and those who would be going for re-runs owing to election irregularities. Serowe is made up of three constituencies, namely, Serowe South, Serowe North and Serowe West, whose parliamentary seats are all occupied by the BPF. The party made history in the 2019 General Election winning all the seats without holding primary elections. The victory, backed by their patron, Ian Khama, had sparked massive interest as all the parliamentary seats have opponents. As if that is not enough, larger numbers have thrown their names into the hat for council seats with a good number of women and the youth also taking part. Only two council candidates were unopposed during the primaries.
With heightened tension between Bagammanwato and the government over Khama, it is expected that the BPF could sweep clean all the parliamentary and the council seats in the Serowe area. Onalepelo Kedikilwe, who won after Tshekedi Khama was disqualified from Parliament, is battling it out with Gaotilwe Omphile in the Serowe West primary elections. In Serowe South, the current MP Leepetswe Lesedi is battling to retain his constituency against former Permanent Secretary, Dr Malefho Kolaatamo, and Prince Moitoi.
