13 Aug 2014

Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama has urged democrats to vote in large numbers so that Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) could emerge victorious in the October general elections.

Addressing a star rally in Sebina, Lt Gen. Khama said Sebina ward was a challenge because it was under the opposition; therefore democrats must rally behind their candidates and make sure the ward becomes theirs.

He stressed the fact that primary elections should not divide fellow members; instead people must understand that not everybody would come out victorious at the party’s primary elections.

He advised those who lost in the primaries not to despair, but rather they should rally behind those who won going into the general elections so that the BDP could continue to guide the country and maintain a recognisable position on the African continent.

The BDP leader further appealed to flowers not to vote on the basis of where a candidate originated; rather they should focus on voting a candidate despite their place of origin.

“I am putting my faith in you that our party will retain the constituency and even grab the Sebina ward from the opposition,” he trusted. In the BDP, he said, everybody was given an equal opportunity to fight for whatever position; hence the primary elections at party level.

He nonetheless stressed the fact that all those who left the party after losing the primary elections would not be admitted back into the party even after winning in the general elections.

He also noted that he was aware that some independent candidates campaigned under the name of the BDP name, clarifying that the BDP does not have independent candidates, and as such people should not be deceived by such people. 

He therefore urged BDP members to make it a point that the party continued to hold power for the good of Batswana, a fact that even the opposition parties know very well that the BDP will come out victorious come October 25 when the results are announced.

Meanwhile, the campaign manager for Shashe West constituency Mr Jabulani Vuke highlighted that the constituency had nine wards out of which Sebina and Mathangwane are under the opposition.

But he was sure that they would fight tooth and nail to win all the wards and live nothing for the opposition. 

He however, said they were surprised and shocked to have for the first in the history of the constituency an independent candidate who left the party after losing at primary elections. 

But he noted they were not afraid of such a candidate despite having been one of them and campaigning on the claims that he was an independent candidate for the BDP. He urged them not to sympathise with such a candidate. ENDS