The past weekend brought to an end the long running debates about the democratic development or lack thereof that has characterised the Francistown West constituency by-election, and, by extension, its possible consequences on the looming 2014 general elections. Indeed, these were highly controversial elections the country has ever experienced in its post-independence period. Yes, we have had the 1984 Tshiamo drama, but nothing came close to what we witnessed in relation to the Francistown ones. They were just a horrible political experiment undertaken by those in charge of the republic.
Certainly, we have had long debates on radio, social networks and print media centered on controversies that marked the latest by-elections. Who can forget the fraudulent petition that provided the basis for a proclamation signed by one other than the Vice President, Dr. Ponatshego Kedikilwe? A friend of mine found it hard to understand a proclamation, thinking that it was something to do with colonial rule! Seriously, we have not heard of anything closer to a proclamation in our post-independence period, precisely because as a guiding light of democracy in an otherwise hopeless continent, we could not afford to apply draconian rules to defeat institutionalization of democratic practice and culture.
Unfortunately, the Francistown West by-elections will always be remembered for its untimely postponement as a result of fraud and trickery on the altar of a so called national interest. Actually, we were shocked as a nation on our return from the festive break to learn that the same group that brought the fraudulent petition in the first place were in actual fact planning on tabling another petition with the powers that be. There were, surprisingly, up in arms once again claiming to have been unfairly treated by the actions or omission of IEC in declining to accept their preferred BDP candidate, Ignatius Moswaane’ nomination. At the same time, they were unhappy with the court decision that bared their candidate’s nomination. Undoubtedly, IEC acted professionally in line with the court order. For that I think they deserve to be commended for a job well done.
What I actually found to be a unique feature of our democracy was that the self-proclaimed leaders of the petitioners could still take chances and bring forth a new petition. How shameful for our democracy? There were, however, positive lessons one could draw from their antics. At best it demonstrated the level of tolerance we have as a people. I can only imagine what could have happened were they living in any other African country, and decided to bring forth such a scandalous petition. Only God knows what would have happened to them. Honestly, I still cannot understand how they can freely roam our streets and engage in radio interviews just to sell their idea. Moreover, I was shocked that they decided to circumvent established process of petitioning by going straight to the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mr Mokweetsi Masisi, to deliver their botched petition. Like I indicated above, once again we demonstrated that democracy is all about tolerance.
Despite the level of tolerance that characterised the latest by-election, there was very little that we could be proud of, particularly for those in the opposition. Before I dwell much on that, let me take this opportunity to congratulate MP elect, Dr. Habaudi Hubona. Indeed, she has been a fighter. In the process of her victory, she becomes the first woman MP from the opposition. On its own, this is a tremendous victory for all women in our otherwise male dominated political landscape. Hopefully, she will act as an example to many of her ilk in the often challenging political terrain of the opposition block.
When the results were announced this is what we learnt ÔÇô BCP won with 968, UDC came second with 578, and the other two independent candidates garnered 157 and 117 respectively. In total the overall number for those who participated in this by-election were roughly 1800. Yes, one thousand eight hundred people who exercised their most basic democratic right! Let’s not forget that the total eligible number of voters were around 11, 000 people. In that sense, the winner managed to garner only 8.8% of illegible voters! I am afraid, this goes beyond voter apathy.
I have tried in vain to understand these terrible levels of voter apathy. To be honest, there could be many issues at play, but I never imagined a low turnout like this one. In fact, it might become a historic low for any parliamentary by-election ever held in our country. Contrast this by-election with the recent past one in Letlhakeng West where roughly 6, 700 voters cast ballots. In here parties were competing in a huge constituency marked by inaccessible roads infrastructure. The costs of participating in that race were therefore going to be high. Despite the prohibitive nature of competition, total votes were impressive for both the ruling BDP and UDC. Fierce competition, in short, is what we got: a necessary condition for institutionalizing democracy.
I am tempted to suggest that our democratic development is at risk when the BDP is not participating as was the case in the weekend by-elections. Actually, for those who are concerned with records, this weekend elections were possibly a first where the ruling party did not participate in parliamentary contest. Perhaps the BDP capacity (both in terms of financial resources and otherwise) does provide strong impetus for our opposition to work hard if they are to compete. This might be a case of a dull student becoming number one (1) in class otherwise populated by equally terrible classmates. What I concluded from the latest by-election is that Francistown West constituency remains a strong hold for the ruling party.
Without downplaying the significance of Dr Hubona’ victory, this turned out a dull contest in which the likelihood of the current victor losing in the next election is far greater than her winning. The sad reality is that the general elections are only less than 8 months from now. For now she and her party should enjoy the benefits of her historic victory.
