Following a meeting of the Botswana National Front executive meeting on Friday, the Special Congress has now been postponed to May.
Party President, Otsweletse Moupo, obliged after a request by some voices inside the BNF executive.
He, however, rejected another request to relocate the congress from Molepolole.
Earlier in the week, it had been announced that the congress would be held in March.
According to a BNF insider, the change of heart came after some members of the Executive called on Moupo to be flexible and to give them more time to campaign.
Moupo compromised and moved the Congress to May.
He, however, would not agree to relocate the Congress away from Molepolole, which was yet another of the requests made by his rivals inside the party executive.
The BNF is currently engaged in a power struggle following a decision by Moupo to call a Special Congress. Moupo says he called the Special Congress because the party leadership lacks
cohesion.
?I think the only people who can resolve the differences among the leadership would be the party principals who are the members of the BNF,?
Moupo said early in the week when he briefed the media on his reasons for resorting to the use of executive powers.
Bent on ousting Moupo from the control of the BNF, some leading people inside the party are said to be uncomfortable with his selection of Molepolole as the venue for the Special Congress.
This is because Molepolole, like most regions in the South are Moupo?s strongholds.
Therefore, having the Congress at Molepolole would naturally work against them.
?They also called for the Congress to be moved backward because they are hoping to have enough time to campaign against Moupo. But it may backfire against them if Moupo improves as he has been doing,? said one BNF Central Committee member who supports Moupo.
Meanwhile, a Gaborone Councilor, Lemme Kgopa, has clarified the issue surrounding Moupo?s bank account, which is reported to be at the heart of the dispute between Moupo and some of his erstwhile comrades in the BNF Central Committee.
Kgopa said he had been personally involved in facilitating the opening of the account.
He said it was meant to assist Moupo from his financial difficulties.
?It was never intended to be a BNF issue, especially because we established it with his relatives and other people who have no connection to the BNF. We did it out of botho,? said Kgopa.
