Following its formation, the BLP released a press statement saying, “it will focus on the struggles of the working class, reject the BDP neo-liberal policies and work with labour unions, civic society groups and other progressive parties in order to forge for the true emancipation of the people of Botswana, continent and the world”.
While the formation of political parties may elicit interest and entice some people in some quarters, the history of opposition politics has also shown that talk is cheap.
The political history of Botswana is also replete with examples that the marriages of convenience between the opposition have made little or no impact in removing the political juggernaut called the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power.
On the contrary, the formation of new opposition parties or alliances, whether reasonable or unreasonable, has festered bad blood within the opposition bloc. The formation of new parties has also helped to prolong the BDP’s stranglehold in the levers of power by among others causing vote splitting within the opposition movement.
The downfall of the opposition alliances in Botswana is caused by the fight for leadership positions, differences over ideologies, governance issues as in the case of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and its affiliate the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), trivial issues, a dominant faction within the opposition alliance turning against cadres of the weaker faction to safeguard the position and personal interests of its leader, infiltration by the ruling party amongst other reasons. Other factors that lead to opposition alliances to have little or no impact are external and are elaborated by an academic Bertha Chiroro in a paper entitled, “The dilemmas of opposition political parties in Southern Africa”. In the paper, Chiroro says: “There is a huge difference between opposition parties and ruling parties in Africa.
The ruling parties, especially the dominant ones, are confident and powerful and have government resources at their disposal, especially in Southern Africa where the line between the government and the ruling party is blurred.” Chiroro adds: “The ruling party, by virtue of its monopoly of the government structures, has a major advantage.
The president of the party is usually in charge. He or she decides when elections will be held and can use events such as opening a new clinic or school, the provision of houses to the poor, or the rolling out of the much needed antiretroviral drugs to launch a campaign. The leader of the opposition, on the other hand, finds it hard to get publicity and, if he or she does get any, it is probably negative.” Chiroro’s observations are also shared by analysts in Botswana who say the downfall of the local opposition alliances cannot always be placed at their doorsteps. When asked by Mmegi if the BLP, an offshoot of the Botswana National Front (BNF), will add value to the cause of the opposition especially the BCP-AP alliance, the interim secretary-general of the BLP Kgakgamatso Kebiditswe answered in the affirmative.
The BLP says it is ready to work with likeminded parties to effect regime change in 2024. Kebiditswe also said so against the backdrop of some consternation within the opposition quarters that the BLP in its current form has no existing structures across the country and is seeking to ride on the coattails of the BCP-AP alliance to remain relevant in the political landscape.
Some skeptics are of the opinion that the acceptance of the BLP under the fold of the BCP-AP alliance will bring more harm than good to the alliance. Amongst other reasons, the doubters say that this may lead to the fight for leadership positions in future.
However, Kebiditswe sees things from a different perspective.
“For a new party to remain relevant in the political environment, it has to first start by building robust and operational structures across the country. The BLP is currently seized with doing that but I must categorically state that the building of structures across the length and breadth of Botswana is not an event but a process. After building structures across the country, we will then solicit their view regarding working with likeminded opposition parties.
If our structures give the interim leadership of the BLP the green light to work with other progressives movements within the opposition, we will then take their view to the congress to ratify it,” said Kebiditswe. Asked when the BLP would hold its inaugural congress, Kebiditswe said: “We have an intention of holding our national congress before the end of this year. However, if for some reasons we are not able to hold it before the end of this year, we will make sure that it is held before the end of the first quarter of 2023.” Recently, a political observer at the University of Botswana (UB), Adam Mfundisi opined: “...It is a myth that the BDP can only be defeated at the polls through a single political formation.
The UDC failed both in 2014 and 2019 General Elections to unseat the BDP. A coalition of many political parties is susceptible to disintegration due to various conflicting, contradictory and contrasting interests, priorities, aspiration, and perspectives.
The BLP may not add value to the political landscape of Botswana but it reflects the divisions within the BNF.”
