The history of opposition politics in Botswana is a history of heartache, failure and gloom. This is a blunt fact that we prefer to skirt around mainly because we believe that at some point in time and as a consequence of the will of God, the opposition will triumph.
Attempts at challenging for state power by opposition parties in Botswana dates back to the first general election 1965 with the participation of the Bechuanaland Peoples Party now Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) and the now defunct Bechuanaland Independence Party (BIP).
It is instructive to note that at the time, the main opposition party, the BPP was riddled with factions that seriously undermined its electoral chances. The BPP had two perpetually squabbling camps led by Philip Matante and Motsamai Mpho.
After the 1965 general election, some BPP members came up with the idea of forming a ‘front’ exclusively to reconcile and unite the BPP factions as well as bring in all other elements opposed to the BDP. This culminated in the formation of the Botswana National Front (BNF).
While the BIP has become extinct and the erstwhile flamboyant BPP almost a ghost party, the BNF has since flourished to become a household name, an established brand in opposition trenches and has been the main opposition for the longest time.
It is indisputable that the BNF is a household name in opposition circles partly on account of its staying power in a political environment that has proved very cruel and had swallowed many political pretenders.
On account of its longevity, having survived so long in a cruel political environment, the BNF has every reason to celebrate their role in Botswana’s political development as the oldest and most decorated opposition party.
There is no denying that the BNF is a celebrated political movement not only for its left wing revolutionary politics or for having crowned many political heavyweights that went on to methodically keep the powers and activities of successive corrupt-prone BDP governments in check, but also for pioneering ground breaking reforms.
However, on the minus side, this longevity may suggest that while the BNF has offered credible challenge to the well-resourced BDP for almost 60 years now, it has thus far failed to dethrone the BDP and has no hope of doing so in the foreseeable future.
Whereas it is a fact that the BDP often resort to fraud and gaming the system to remain in power, it is also a fact that the main opposition party which happens to be the oldest and most decorated, the BNF, fails to unseat the BDP because of its own inherent flaws.
Essentially, the BNF is too organizationally volatile and prone to chaos hence always miss the hole at a crucial moment.
Given this scenario, it is indisputable that the BNF carries the baggage of having failed to dethrone the BDP even when losing appeared more difficult than winning.
The BNF has a history of incessant infighting for power and is characterized by violent factional battles that make it very unstable and disarranged to effect regime change.
Whereas the BNF has demonstrated a great deal of resilience since political independence, it has also demonstrated a proven culture of indiscipline that makes it incapable of mounting a credible challenge for state power.
Be that as it may, the BNF has become a symbol of failure, a spent force on Botswana’s political playground and a hopeless pretender to the throne.
This opinion derives from the premise that since the BNF is considered a household name and a celebrated trademark with considerable influence, voters expected these virtuous attributes to translate into superior performance at the polls.
Unfortunately, the BNF has come to be associated with dismal performance at every general election even when the party had entered into an electoral arrangement with other opposition formations for purposes of defeating the ruling BDP.
While many people have always believed that the BNF should be the foundation upon which to build any hope of dethroning the BDP, in recent years many have started to question its viability as a springboard for regime change and those cannot be faulted after investing so much emotions and resources in the party only to be disappointed at every opportunity.
With corruption getting out of control, unemployment threatening to make us prominent destitute persons and the economy on a free fall, Batswana want a change of government sooner than later and seem to be in agreement that the BNF has run its race and has no potential to do better than it has always done at the polls, even when bolstered with other parties under the rubric of UDC.
Consequently, there is despair, disbelief and hopelessness about the direction of opposition politics that seem to suggest that people are disappointed by the chaos that characterizes opposition politics, particularly with the BNF as the natural leader of the opposition movement.
While every general election has tended to renew hopes for a change of government, the results of the polls have always served as a reminder that the possibility to dethrone the BDP would remain a pipe dream for as long as voters continue to invest hopes in the BNF or any electoral arrangement where the BNF (the self-appointed arbiter of opposition politics) has the leadership role.
When all is said and done, many members and sympathizers of opposition parties are increasingly getting tired of opposition politics in particular with the BNF that considers itself as the Godfather of opposition parties.
Many opposition diehards are evidently disillusioned and demoralized mainly because after almost 60 years, there is still no hope with the opposition whatsoever and this is largely because in spite of its pre-eminence in opposition politics, its appealing militant politics and its historical association with flamboyant personalities and fiery teens, the BNF is a fickle that is nevertheless celebrated and adorable like a veteran slay queen of the village.
To that end, there is some fatigue and despondency in the opposition trenches. Voters are fed up with the ruling BDP and similarly frustrated with the BNF’s culture of fighting smaller opposition parties for refusing to affiliate to it.
Like a spoilt kid who breaks everything in the supermarket because his parents could not let him get what he wanted, the BNF has tended to target any opposition party that is not interested in affiliating to the ‘front’ for whatever reason and this appears to prove that theirs is about protecting their bragging rights as the main opposition party.
It must be noted that many voters hope to attain a sense of meaning from their participation in [opposition] politics. Many of them possibly entered politics highly motivated to make Botswana a better place.
Most of them certainly had high expectations while some even regarded political activism as a calling and reckoned that their loyalty to the opposition would usher in a better government. However, after investing substantial resources, victory for the opposition seems further and further away.
This inability to influence political change within a reasonable space of time seems to suggest that in spite of their massive efforts and unequivocal activism, opposition loyalists are making no difference whatsoever at the polls hence many are completely burned out resulting in loss of commitment to the struggle.
It is quite apparent and critical to note that under the stewardship of the BNF, the opposition has failed to inspire the necessary confidence and assure the voters that it is serious about removing the BDP from state power during their lifetime.
Whereas this fatigue with opposition politics, in particular with the BNF, has the potential to cause people to lose interest and hope in politics and elections generally, it also has the effect of making voters introspect and reconsider their loyalty to the BNF and/or closest allies including the coalition it is leading now and in the future. A consequence of this shift in loyalty could see voters getting resolute and inspired to dump the BNF for an alternative opposition party that has a semblance of being stable, well-organized and sufficiently focused in its determination to defeat the BDP in the not too distant future.
