Billy Sekgororoane who last week hatched a plan aimed at guiding none politically aligned voters how to vote says he is adamant that his plan is the best way to assure results for those seeking a change of government. Under Sekgororoane’s plan the Botswana Congress Party has been awarded 16 constituencies while the Umbrella for Democratic Change has been allocated 19.
Under the same plan, the UDC and BCP would after elections form a coalition government, with UDC becoming the senior partner.
In an interview, Sekgororoane said since he went public with the plan, his suggestions have been generously received by voters who are not aligned to political parties. His biggest critics, he said have mainly come from political party activists. He said he was least concerned because the plan is not for people who have already made up their minds on how they are going to vote with no possibility of shifting.
He does not apologise for sidestepping political parties in his plan, saying because they have failed to allocate seats among themselves when given an opportunity to do so, it is now up to the voter to do it for them. He also says from his reading of the many criticisms leveled at him, it is more a fight for turf by political parties than achieving results, exactly the kind of mentality, he said that put paid the possibility of BCP working with other opposition parties in the first place.
“Some people have labeled me a UDC sympathizer. Others have said I am a closet BDP activist. Others have said I am BCP. But I am not concerned. The important thing for me is that the message has reached its intended audience,” he said.
Together with a group of like minded individuals, Sekgororoane last week released a survey of constituencies spelling out how they should be divided between UDC and BCP. Of the two parties, the BCP has been more vociferous in its attack of Sekgororoane’s plan. Among other things the BCP has accused Sekgororoane of inconsistencies in his constituency allocation criteria and of favouring the UDC.
