18 Mar 2015

The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has overcome the first hurdle towards reviewing its primary elections, Bulela Ditswe and will debate the final recommendations at its July congress.

Briefing journalists at the end of BDP 53rd national council, chairperson of the Bulela Ditswe review commission, Mr Peter Siele, said although there were various methods presented on how the party election could be conducted, the BDP national council maintained that Bulela Ditswe should nonetheless be continued.

What party members insisted should be looked into, he said, was the registration and voting aspects of Bulela Ditswe that had overtime proved to be the Achilles heel of an otherwise noble process. Mr Siele noted that in the past between 1969-1979, the process to identify a council or parliamentary candidate was such that it was upon the leadership of the party to head-hunt a candidate.

“That is why in the past most did not represent their home village, for example Modise Sebotho, from Kanye represented Ngwaketse-Kgakalagadi,” he said. Mr Siele said as time went, party members raised concern that they were not represented by people of their choice, therefore some committees took it up with the party leadership.

He said after further consideration, Bulela Ditswe came about and was trialled in 2001 during the Selibe-Phikwe council by- election and parliamentary bye election in Lentsweletau. Mr Siele said in 2008 it was implemented full scale and that was when several teething problems started to be identified which precipitated the ongoing review. ENDS