UDC allocation backlash reaches Francistown East
FRANCISTOWN: With the recent Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) constituency allocation causing dissatisfaction amongst affiliate members, Francistown East has joined the list. Mmegi has learnt that the latest affiliate, Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) is not happy that the constituency has been allocated to the Botswana People’s Party (BPP).
The BPP deputy secretary general, Tiroeaone Ntsima will represent the UDC in the constituency in the 2024 General Election. The decision to award the Francistown East to BPP was taken last week. Before allocation, it was believed that the BPF was the frontrunner in the race to secure the constituency. This was so because the BPF contested the last general election in Francistown East and already it has a footprint in the constituency despite its tiny support.
Reports from Francistown East suggest that the decision to give the constituency to the BPP will backfire. The fear is that some BPF members have vowed not to cooperate with Ntsima during the campaign trail. The BPF activists feel the constituency should have been given to the party’s vice president, Keitumetse Muzila, who has already expressed interest in representing the UDC in this year’s polls.
Muzila, who founded the Jehovah Potters Assembly and is also a prophetess, told this publication last year that if the BPF was given the Francistown East parliamentary seat, she would run for it because she feels she has the existing support of BPF members in the constituency.
A BPP source close to the goings-on in Francistown East described the allocation of the constituency to the BPP as a “double-edged sword”. The source further told Mmegi that the BPP has exerted significant pressure on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the UDC demanding to be given additional constituencies such as Francistown East.
“Our other concern is that Ntsima contested the 2019 general elections in Francistown South under the UDC. He was then a Botswana Congress Party (BCP) activist. He is going to find it difficult to canvas for votes in Francistown East because he is unknown in the constituency which is a recipe for disaster,” said the aggrieved source. In the 2019 General Election, the BDP won Francistown East with 4,651 votes followed by the UDC with 2,632 votes.
The Alliance for Progressives (AP) and BPF, which were then not contracting parties of the UDC, got 433 and 354 votes respectively. Muzila declined to comment when asked about the issue.