The Botswana National Front’s Kentse Rammidi will reconsider his position as a politician should the unity talks between opposition parties fail to reach common ground.
Rammidi has previously said he would quit politics if the opposition talks failed.
Many thought he was saying it in jest, but he is adamant that he has not reconstructed his views.
He said in an interview that he still hopes there is a chance for opposition parties to fight the 2014 elections as a unit.
Botswana Congress Party, Botswana Peoples Party, Botswana Movement for Democracy and BNF negotiations for the Umbrella project collapsed at the close of the year.
“Yes, of course, I am truly disappointed by the outcome of negotiations. To me, there should be no finger-pointing and the parties should not throw in the towel,” said the former BDP Secretary General Rammidi who recently resigned from the ruling party to join opposition ranks.
“Going towards 2014 national elections is very important and opposition parties should be a united force if they are to oust BDP. I did not join the opposition just to add numbers and so should be the position of other members in the opposition ranks,” he added.
Rammidi resigned from the BDP because he was unhappy with some BDP policies, such as declaring teaching as an essential service.
“If the negotiations fail, it will be meaningless and as such I would have to reconsider myself as an MP and politician,” Rammidi concluded.
Either model unifying the parties is fine with Rammidi as Umbrella and pact models become a hot political issue amongst the parties.
Negotiations between the opposition parties collapsed over differences in the allocation of constituencies.
The BMD wanted all incumbent MPs to be allowed to stand unopposed while other partners felt they would be disadvantaged particularly in areas they believed they have made tangible in-roads in the last general elections.
BCP feels the incumbency model would disadvantage it in Francistown South and South East South currently in the hands of the BMD.
