Sunday, February 16, 2025

Economic refugees from BDP will destabilise UDC

You need money – lots of it, to run an effective campaign for elective political office.

On the basis of personal experience from a decade ago, a former cabinet minister says that a campaign for an urban constituency costs “nothing less than P300 000” while that for a rural constituencies like those in Kgalagadi and Okavango would be double that amount. The cost would certainly have gone up. The expense list includes fuel, food, accommodation and campaign paraphernalia – especially T-shirts, airtime, and small stipends for the campaign team.

“Election campaigns are generally expensive; that is why some MPs become destitute after unsuccessful runs for elective office,” says the former minister, adding that when he ran for a Botswana Democratic Party Central Committee position a couple of years back, he spent about P3 million, half of it coming from family savings.

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