90 days of doubt
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Botswana is known as Africa’s longest standing democracy, venerated for holding free and fair elections successively since 1965 without any blemish. The 23rd October 2019 general elections has however may left a blot on Botswana’s copy book, according to the opposition parties and forensic investigators engaged by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
Botswana for the first time, has been plunged into ‘uncertainty’, with the results of 13 constituencies being challenged, as well as 16 council wards. The courts would have to deliver a verdict on Botswana’s future within 90 days, from the day of elections. In a 57 seat parliament, BDP won 38 seats, while UDC, which has brought petitions before the courts, won 15 seats followed by three seats of its ally, Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) and a single seat of Alliance for Progressives (AP).
All the three opposition parties represented in parliament have joined hands to take BDP head on. Currently, BDP has only nine seats superiority, a number which means should UDC succeed in its suits, the ruling party may lose majority in parliament. In an interview yesterday (Friday), a prominent lawyer Uyapo Ndadi has revealed that if at all the courts will establish there was rigging, it will be bad for democracy, but if not it will boost the credentials that Botswana already enjoys.
He was however quick to point out that the UDC is right to seek legal redress if aggrieved. “They are free to seek justice. Anyone can exercise that, it is a constitutional right. But we don’t know the merits of the case but it will really put us on a bad light as a country if it is established that it happened,” he said. Ndadi, who is renowned human rights advocate could not be drawn to discuss whether as a nation we have reached a level where there could be rigging claims. “Unfortunately I don’t know how it is done.”
UDC spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa has told this publication that they are only hoping for “justice” and wants the election declared null and void and re-run be held. Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organization (BOCONGO) Executive Secretary Botho Seboko is also concerned by the petitions. “If indeed it is true that there was rigging, it will be very bad for our democracy. Not only that but it would be bad for the Office of President, it will be a shame. Countries will start to perceive us differently.
Again it would be bad for some of the institutions overseeing elections like Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and District Commissioner (DC) offices,” he said. Seboko, whose organisation was part of election observer missions in the elections, says this country is not yet at the level of rigging. “We are not yet there, Batswana are not violent, soldiers are not intimidating like in countries such as Sudan or DRC.” Another party which has joined the fray is the AP, and they are also going all out to ensure that justice prevails.
“As things stand we cannot downplay and dismiss these allegations. When people lose confidence in the electoral process it could bring the country into chaos. We should have thorough investigations so that we plug suspected gaps.” AP which was initially mute on the alleged rigging, says it has also received reports from their structures over irregularities and in due course they will make their position known. BDP Secretary General Mpho Balopi told this publication last week that the party is concerned by the petitions. Balopi who won the Gaborone North constituency also has his victory challenged in court.
“We are not worried but rather concerned by those Batswana who voted for the BDP to rule are now at a disadvantage because it seems people are questioning their decision to give us the responsibility,” he said. “On the other hand these petitions compromise the integrity of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Following all the transparent process put forward before all the parties prior to the elections including inspection of the voters roll we are concerned by this.”
While Balopi is dismissing any worries as a party emanating from these petitions, informants say the mood was sombre when the subject matter was presented. The registration exercise had attracted around 933 627 voters who were eligible to vote. In the first voter registration, 753 470 registered; the first supplementary garnered 40 738; and the last having attained 139 354. IEC had targeted 1 067 218 million voters to register and used close to P134 million for the exercise
The UDC claims of duplicated names, Boko said this compromises Botswana‘s elections which observers have always hailed as free and fair. “Rigging might have already started and we are concerned by the care-free manner demonstrated by the IEC,” he said before elections.
The party says it even sent a letter of concern through their lawyers to the IEC in regard to the matter and the election body conceded that it was a blunder on their side but they have since arrested the situation. But the UDC top echelons were still not convinced and suspected there might be a plan to manipulate the elections.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.