After pulling out of the opposition cooperation talks with the Botswana Alliance Movement and Botswana Congress Party, the Botswana People?s Party will now go back to the basics to charter the way forward ahead of the 2009 elections.
According to party president, Bernard Balikani, the BPP has a program called Vision 2014, the objective of which is to revive party structures, raise
funds and reinvigorate the image of the party on a national level scale.
Balikani said that though they pulled out of the talks they are still very much aware of the fact that opposition parties need to put up a united front if they fancy any chances of wrestling power from the BDP. He, however, said that BPP firmly believes that all other models of cooperation have repeatedly failed and the ideal model is one in which all parties dismantle and unite under one name with one constitution, one manifesto and one leader.
?As long as we negotiate as independent parties we will never succeed because each party negotiates in bad faith, secretly plotting to outsmart the other and retain a majority of constituencies,? he said.
Balikani added that the BPP had, in the past, engaged in different pact models with other political parties including the BNF and BAM.
Such models have repeatedly failed, he said.
?We are now convinced that the only model that can work is one in which all opposition parties dismantle and unite under one name, one constitution and one leader.?
