FRANCISTOWN: A subtle political storm, surely not one in a tea cup, is brewing within the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
UDC President Duma Boko avoided being drawn into opposition merger proposition as suggested by the leadership of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) during a press briefing.
The announcement by the BCP President Dumelang Saleshando who is also the Vice President of UDC with a proposition that opposition parties should merge in order to wrestle power from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the coming elections has stoked tensions within the umbrella coalition.
The UDC comprises of three coalition parties; Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana Congress Party(BCP) and Botswana People’s Party(BPP).
Saleshando and his supporters have called for a total merger of the coalition parties within the UDC including opposition parties outside the political outfit such as the Alliance for Progressives(AP) and the Botswana Patriotic Front(BPF).
Briefing the media after a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting that was held at Thapama Hotel in Francistown at the weekend, Boko said such differences are normal and should not in any way cause panic.
Last week, the social media was awash with heated comments from some members of the UDC especially those from the BNF who strongly expressed anger at Saleshando for making such a proposal. Some of the commentators went to the extent of labeling him “Power hungry”.
“It is common knowledge that in each and every relationship people have differences. These differences can be portrayed in different tones or manner. We need to live to the reality that these issues exist in a democratic government setting. We are all aware that there have been such tensions and differences coming from some of our members recently. The tensions are not from the UDC leadership but some members,” Boko said.
Boko said such differences sometimes attract unpalatable language. He however said the UDC has since taken a stern decision to call such members to order and discipline. The UDC leader was evasive as he could not answer questions from the media on whether or not he supported a total merger of the opposition parties.
He said the UDC is still yet to discuss and consult with its partners on such a proposal. He further revealed that they have received a proposal from both the BPF and AP to see if they cannot work together in unseating the BDP in the coming elections
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“The BPF has written a letter to us to make an arrangement on how we can work together to unseat the BDP from power. AP has also proposed that we work together during the bye elections and beyond. We still have to consult on these issues,” said the UDC President.
The UDC National Executive Committee had met at Thapama Hotel to discuss among others, the outcome of the 2019 General Elections.
Boko revealed that the resolution that was made at the meeting was that all UDC branches in various coalition parties across the country should compile reports regarding the outcome of the elections and tender them to the UDC National Executive Committee (NEC).
He further revealed that the NEC has established a four member delegation which will put together terms of reference to a committee of experts which will then look at all these reports and make assessments.
“The expectation is that all the reports from these branches should be complete by the end of November 2020. They will be received by our NEC and handed to the experts who will assess them. They will then advise us on the way forward,” he said.
Among other important issues, Boko said that they discussed legal costs concerning the election petitions which the UDC lost in all its court battles. He said the petitions were justified as they were to expose the irregularities in the 2019 general elections. He explained that after losing petition cases, the candidates have to bear the brunt to pay their own legal costs. He however said that the UDC will help pay part of the legal bills to the candidates. Boko further rubbished reports that the UDC was slapped with P10 million legal cost bills.
“Those reports are unfounded and lack basis. There is a process in the courts of law on how these legal costs are calculated and paid. I do not know where the P10 million report comes from. So far the legal costs that have been released are from the Court of Appeal as they have already been taxed. Their total amount stands at P565 000. Those at the High Court stage are still pending,” he said.
