As the industry of democracy grows, chances are that the nature of politics within any state changes and become precarious in some cases. Democracy as a system of governance can ultimately become dangerous especially in instances where its growth is likely to shift from cherishing the core values of democracy to focusing on opportunism and materialism which eventually could derail those purporting commitment to the democratic project to focusing on matters which could benefit them materially. Unfortunately at times there is a thin line which makes a distinction between a democracy and a dictatorship when it comes to power or having an influential position. The love for power is dangerous to a democracy and the same is true that power intoxication in a dictatorship could breed devastating results even to the dictators themselves. Democracy also has the potential of birthing political hypocrisy whereby folks could proclaim that they are standing for the welfare of the masses whereas the truth could be that focus is on material accumulation. So democracy is certainly a sweet word on pen and tongue but what lies within the skin of the kingdom of democracy is scary if not complex.
Botswana is going through a difficult democratic dilemma for both the ruling party and the opposition. However, given the manner in which the wind is blowing given the newborn political baby-Opposition Umbrella, one could safely declare that those subscribing to the new political ideology of democratic alliance/umbrella are probably having more sleepless nights than those currently on the golden throne. The question that rings through the ears is; will the umbrella work? Day-in-day-out innocent citizens especially those who would like to see the opposition gain supremacy grab newspapers or listen to the radio with the hope of hearing that something great is emerging from the umbrella talks, but unfortunately genuine democratic leadership and commitment to winning elections appears to be lacking from the opposition project. Obviously the conveners are wholeheartedly committed to their cause but the unfortunate thing is that they are dealing with democracy matters whose focus is on ascendance to power which automatically licenses one to material gains. That is why these talks are becoming a thorn on the neck for the opposition.
Unless our opposition changes their objectives and begin to dwell on untapped wells whereby focus will be on wrestling power from the ruling party without necessarily looking at how much one may pocket or gain as a reward, chances are that the BDP will rule this country for some good years to come.
Take it or leave it, the bashing that has been going on against the ruling party especially on President Khama will not and does not translate into the gaining of political mileage by the opposition. You can bash President Khama all you want and if you are not prepared to come up with reasonable and tangible political strategies which could help convince the electorates to vote for the opposition, reality-based on the history of Botswana’s politics is that the BDP will continue to cruise through elections regardless of the antics on the President. Let it be borne in mind that our society and political climate is composed by staunch conservatives who have been voting for the same winning party since 1965 and you certainly cannot and will not win their vote by vilifying the government of the day without ushering in sound and pronounced political strategies. Failure to resolve impulses within the opposition and forging forward with commitment to the democratic project as one voice will continue to bastardize and pulverize democracy.
Simple and straightforward, no one opposition party will ever take power from the BDP by going it alone. The pages of history back my analysis and truly winning power from the BDP does not call for a miracle. All it calls for is rationale combined opposition thinking. Even if two parties were to join forces and leave others out, their dream of grabbing power from the BDP through the vote would turn into a nightmare. The BDP has established itself to the degree that its strategies cannot be easily countered by one opposition voice or petty talk and it should be remembered very well that the material resources that the BDP has, has worked for them in the past during campaigns and will continue to work for them even in 2014 unless otherwise. In fact, as the opposition umbrella is struggling to reach consciences, the BDP is already heavily campaigning in its traditionally conservative strong basis.
Well, the opposition has undisputable support in all the towns and should this support be taken for granted and blunders be made at the umbrella talks, a similar incident to what happened to Old Naledi in Gaborone in the past elections will surface. Traditionally strong opposition strongholds could easily be won by the BDP through a split vote. Therefore, leaving anything to chance by the opposition will be suicidal.
There should be a complete shift from Khama bashing to focusing on policy as well as on bread and butter issues which an ordinary Motswana can understand. If old women in Mabesekwa or Letsholathebe village were to ask you in your campaign as an opposition member gore ga nka go tlhopha ngwanake otlaa mpha eng? You cannot respond by saying kana tautona yoo o mo pusong ke ene mathata-you have to speak the language that the electorates understand. They need socio-economic help among all things and the blankets, houses and financial resources that they are receiving from the ruling party today is what they can identify with. Obviously the mindset is different amongst the educated but the educated alone will not take power from the BDP.
Finally, one of the major problems plaguing opposition talks and even the future of the umbrella is that the BDP already on a recruitment mission in all the opposition parties and it will take men and women of character to resist the goodies that the BDP is offering.
So ba ba bolwang ke tlala may easily fall into the trap thus consequently destabilizing the mission of the umbrella. So a lot of drama is still to unveil within the opposition towards 2014 elections. There is an absolute need for strategic wisdom within the umbrella and opposition leadership to manage people as well as managing relationships with the media since one disturbing issue emerging in the midst of the umbrella talks is that any Jack and Jill including policy gurus within the opposition can say whatever they want to the media regarding the umbrella mission which eventually causes a lot of confusion and frustration amongst the electorates and the opposition well wishers. So certainly people ought to be managed and it is for this reason that some genuine and committed scholars of democracy argue that at times democracy works well when people know when to shut up.
All in all, the recent developments in our democratic process are generally good since they reflect that our democracy is growing and such developments should be glorified by both the ruling party and the opposition parties. However, in order for political salvation to come to the opposition parties, democracy and umbrella talks ought to be taken seriously; otherwise all we could end up seeing is the normal opposition participation in elections. As Martin Lurther King Jr. would put it; LET FREEDOM RING – this is the beauty of a democracy.
Dr. Jotia is a Senior Lecturer and a scholar of Democracy and Education at the University of Botswana.
