Over the past several weeks an isolated settlement of Mokoboxane in the Boteti region became the focal point of yet another council by-election. The BDP, which had won the seat in 2009 general elections with a comfortable margin, was facing what is becoming a common phase of Botswana politics ÔÇô a combined opposition. This time around the opposition parties of BMD, BPP and BCP rallied behind a BNF candidate. Unlike in 2009, the BCP opted not to field a candidate and other parties assisted in different ways canvassing support for the sole opposition candidate. Despite the efforts of the combined opposition, BDP, again, managed to win the by-election. What was quite interesting to me about this latest contest, however, was the narrow margin with which the ruling party snatched the contest. In the Mmegi article (March 12, 2012) BNF spin doctor, Moeti Mhwasa, thanking BNF votes observed that his party went into the elections as underdogs but gave the ruling party a run for its money. To him, BDP escaped by a whisker! Just nine votes separated the winner and the loser. It was not surprising though.
The Botswana Gazette Newspaper (March 14, 2012) quotes the campaign manager for the ruling party, Prince Maele, admitting that the by-election was tricky. He put it nicely this way: “We have long realized that it will be very tough. During our campaigns, whenever we reached a certain area we found the opposition. We were, therefore, not surprised during the ballot counting when we were neck to neck with our rival. I know that opposition was expecting to topple us but they failed due to their fights; if they were working cooperatively together maybe it could be another story.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
The manner in which the ruling party won it was typical. According to Maele, they put too much effort in the by-election because they knew it was always going to be rough. They had to work hard as a party and unite behind their candidate. This they did without failure. Numerous trips were undertaken by senior party officials to bolster the campaign including the Vice-President, Mompati Merafhe, who reportedly made not one but two trips to the area in the last week of the campaign. Yes, they have the resources as a party in power to finance such a campaign. One can tell that the ruling party didn’t leave anything to chance. This was one election they had to win by all means if they were to undermine electoral prospects of opposition going forward.
In light of the foregoing, I found it fitting to question the prospects of our opposition parties more so that 2014 general elections are just around the corner. Are the opposition parties ready to challenge the ruling one or are we bound to witness the familiar fragmented lot who are unable to end almost half a century of BDP rule? What is it that they need to do if they are to mount a serious test against the BDP? These are but some of the questions that many Batswana would like to get an answer. Before attempting to address such questions, I wish to state from the onset the efficacy of opposition in a plural society like ours.
My starting point dovetails with what many other people – including our past two presidents of this nation (both from the BDP) have recently confirmed: We need a strong opposition that acts and behaves like a government in waiting. An opposition with alternative policies meant to advance socio-economic lives of Batswana. Accordingly, the growing call for a strong opposition is premised on the assumption that such will foster a strong sense of accountability on the part of the ruling party in terms of how they manage our republic. That is, a strong opposition will act as a deterrent of abuse of power by the ruling party and, hence, greatly enhance good governance and democracy for our country. This therefore is not just another call meant to add a voice for those calling for a regime change. It should be understood as a principled call not directed towards anybody.
Unfortunately, the current state of our opposition politics suggests that for us as a nation we will have to place much of our hope on the BDP to act responsibly in running the affairs of this country. Let the truth be told, ours is an opposition in crisis. The Mokobaxane by-election, as already indicated above, captures the sorry state our opposition find itself in at the moment.
Although the losing margin was small, that loss glaringly illuminates serious challenges before our opposition parties. That they are under-resourced is a fact. They fail to present a picture of coherence and well-run organisations. Such are organisations that are continuously able to take stock of themselves and find new ways of doing things despite the adversity they face. Instead, their failure to work together continues to exacerbate the existing crisis of confidence the general electorates have in them.
Then, what needs to be done? I do not in any way seek to undermine the admirable job that is being done by party activists and many other Batswana who are helping in any way to resuscitate the fortunes of Botswana opposition movement. But the opposition, more than anything else, are their own enemies. In a general sense, I think opposition parties need to look at their strategies and see how best such can help them win state power. As Maele noted above, their failure to win are largely due to their fights. The ‘failed’ Umbrella project best illustrated such behaviour whereby participating parties failed once again at forging partnership because they couldn’t agree on constituency allocation. Self-preservation was the norm and in the process they forgot about the ‘bigger picture’. The sad reality, however, is that almost everywhere across the country there is opposition presence. If these parties cannot see what their competitors in the BDP see (i.e. they present a strong challenge to them if they can work as a united opposition) then the road to Denmark as presented by Leader of Opposition, Botsalo Ntuane, in parliament will lead them nowhere!
