The Botswana National Front (BNF) leadership will meet in a week’s time to take a position on whether to revive the Umbrella talks with the Botswana Movement For Democracy or explore the possibilities of another electoral model with the Botswana Congress Party (BCP).
Party General Secretary, Akanyang Magama, confirmed to the Sunday Standard that his party had received written correspondence from both the BMD and BCP proposing a meeting.
Magama revealed that the BMD wants to revive the Umbrella project between BNF, BCP and Botswana People’s Party (BPP).
He said that on the other hand the BCP is asking for a meeting with the BNF leadership to explore a possible cooperation alternative to the Umbrella arrangement.
“We are going to discuss these two proposals. There is also some intervention from the Unions,” said Magama.He said that as a result the party leadership is scheduled to meet with representatives from the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) who have shown keen interest in reviving the Umbrella talks.
For now both the BCP and BMD who failed to agree at the negotiations table, will have to wait until the 21st of January to learn whom among them will contest the 2014 general elections as a BNF ally.
“Its true that we have written to the BNF proposing for the executives to meet,” said BCP secretary general Kesitegile Gobotswang in a separate interview.
“We decided to engage BNF because our wish lists were not in conflict, we had actually indorsed the BNF wish lists,” he added.
Gobotswang said that his party wants to pursue cooperation with the BNF because the collapsed Umbrella is not the only model of cooperation available to opposition parties.
Although some in the BNF prefer the BCP,others like party President Duma Boko believe the BMD is a strategic partner that opposition parties should work with to usurp state power from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party(BDP).
Boko has made it know that he believes the parties can still salvage some success from the buckled Umbrella project.
