The BPF hits back at UDC members blaming it for Sefhophe defeat, declaring that the loyalty of its two Cabinet ministers to the UDC neither concerns nor binds the party
GAZETTE REPORTER
The opposition Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) has hit back at members of the ruling Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) who blame it for the coalition’s humiliating defeat in the Sefhophe ward by-election, declaring that it owes the ruling coalition neither political allegiance nor electoral loyalty.
The party has drawn a sharp distinction between its opposition status and the participation of two of its Members of Parliament in President Duma Boko’s administration, insisting that the UDC has an arrangement with individual BPF legislators rather than a formal alliance with the party.
Speaking in an interview with The Botswana Gazette, BPF Deputy Secretary General Modiri Lucas said “the ruling coalition must accept that the BPF remains an independent opposition party entitled to contest elections against it”.
NO ALLIANCE
“BPF is not part of the UDC. During electoral contests, we expect all our members, including the two Ministers-Lawrence Ookeditse and Baratiwa Mathoothe, to advance the interests of the party and not those of our competitors,” Lucas said.
He dismissed suggestions that the presence of BPF legislators in Cabinet should oblige the party to support UDC candidates or refrain from challenging the governing coalition.
“Look at the South African GNU, where independent parties continue to advance their parties’ interests despite being in an alliance with the ANC,” he said.
Lucas continued:“We don’t owe UDC anything. We are preparing for the 2029 elections. We are open to working with any party,” he declared.
SEFHOPHE DEFEAT
His remarks follow the Sefhophe ward by-election, in which the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) wrestled the council seat from the UDC by a margin of 95. The BPF’s 225 votes exceeded the BCP’s 95-vote winning margin, a numerical comparison that has placed the party’s decision to field its own candidate at the centre of the political fallout.
“The UDC’s electoral fortunes are not the BPF’s responsibility,” Lucas said.
CABINET DILEMMA
“We have noticed that our ministers are struggling during political campaigns for fear of compromising the master, and we hope such matters will be dealt with once and for all at the upcoming congress,” he said.
DIVIDED LOYALTIES
The tensions have become increasingly visible in the contrasting political positions taken by Ookeditse and fellow BPF legislator Leepetswe Lesedi.
In a recent social media post, Ookeditse mocked critics who had apparently expected the BPF to turn against the UDC, indicating that such expectations had come to nothing.
His parliamentary colleague, however, struck a markedly different tone. Lesedi launched a scathing attack on the UDC government’s handling of persistent medicine shortages, questioning its spending priorities while public health facilities struggled to secure essential medicines.
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