The BCP Members of Parliament have received notice from the Clerk of the National Assembly that the General Assembly shall meet on the 20th May 2024, to consider the Constitutional Amendment (Bill) 2024.
BCP spokesperson Mpho Pheko said since 2021, the BCP leadership apprised different stakeholders including the Botswana Council of Churches and the EU delegation on all attempts made by the Party to engage President Masisi on the matter. She said the position of the BCP as shared with different stakeholders is that President Masisi has chosen a process that fails to include critical stakeholders in the review of the Constitution.
“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐃𝐏 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝟏𝟎 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥. It has now become apparent that the BDP government has no shame or conscience. They think the Constitution is a playground or a party document that can be manipulated to advance BDP interests and to grow the imperial presidency that has suffocated the growth of our democracy,” she says.
She adds that: “Now we understand why the Constitutional Review Process was hurried; it was conceived as an excuse to bring into our Constitution some self-serving and undemocratic clauses such as giving the President the power to elect 10 Specially Elected Members of Parliament and unprecedented and dangerous powers in the appointment of the Judiciary. In effect, the Bill seeks to dilute the significance of universal suffrage by giving one person, the President, the disproportionate power to appoint 10 extra Members of Parliament (MP) in addition to 61 MPs elected by the people.”
She said th𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Why would a President in a democracy exhibit such scary greed for untrammelled power? Why does the President want to meddle in the selection or appointment of Judges and compromise the independence of the judiciary that lies at the very heart of a democratic order?
“We already have a captured judiciary that serves its political masters in Domkrag. Why should we seek to worsen this situation? How far will we allow Masisi to destroy our democracy, and our institutions? Why does the BDP think it is fine to amend the Constitution to target individuals who have left its ranks?
This is just naked abuse of power. The President Masisi’s attempt to increase his powers is a naked and unacceptable negation of the voice of the people and the BCP rejects it.
The BCP continues to demand an independent judiciary that is free from executive influence. A judiciary of all the people; not a judiciary that is an extension of the BDP and exhibiting same tendencies as is authoritarian Executive sibling. We say to the BDP: hands off the judiciary.
The BCP has always taken issue with the flawed process that yielded this Bill. We are appalled at the one man show called our Constitutional Review Commission in which only one person, partisan in nature and approach, imposes his will (with respect to process and content) on the whole nation and purports to consult a people on a constitution which the people have not been educated about. For these reasons. The BCP invites all the democratic forces, to reject this attempt, refuse to legitimise the process and to ensure that the unilateral effort is halted,” said Pheko.
She added that; “We call upon the conscience of all Members of the 12th Parliament and appeal to all of them to put partisan interests aside, and to show respect to Batswana by demanding the passage of an Act of Parliament that will govern how the entire constitutional review process must unfold.
We call for a new constitutional review process in which all stakeholders will play a meaningful role in the process. We once again call upon the government to invest in civic education as part of the building block of a proper constitutional review process. The BCP demands a PARTICIPATORY and INCLUSIVE constitutional review process now! We promise that at the General Assembly, the BCP MP’s will speak to the values that must inform a transparent constitutional review process in the clearest of terms.”
