21 Jul 2015

Mr Eric Molale is Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) parliamentary candidate for Goodhope/Mabule constituency.

Mr Molale emerged victorious after garnering 703 votes, defeating other four democrats during the party’s primary elections held in Goodhope over the weekend.

The other four democrats were former youth league chairman, Mr Fankie Motsaathebe who got 625, former councillor Mr Kopo Mononi (468), Mr Phillip Sebakile (207) and Mr Richard Mogatle (59). A total of 2104 electorates casted their votes, out of which 42 ballots were spoilt.

The all party bye-elections for the Goodhope/Mabule constituency will be held on August 15. That follows resignation of the area MP, Mr James Mathokgwane of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) recently.

However, after the results, Mr Motsaathebe refused to accept the results arguing that the process was not fair. Mr Motsaathebe said there were serious issues encountered during the elections, and thus had filed a complaint letter.

On the other hand, Mr Sebakile accepted the results but with reservations saying the dates for campaigning were too short and there was poor cooperation between the headquarters and candidates. The other three candidates were not available for comment after the results.

Mr Molale, also Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, said after his victory that Barolong exercised their democratic rights to vote for him to represent them.

He encouraged fellow democrats to support each other in the coming bye-elections scheduled for next month. He thanked those who voted for him saying they demonstrated freedom of expression that prevailed in Botswana.

Thus, he encouraged them to maintain the good spirit of freedom of expression. The returning officer, Mr Motlhophi Leo appreciated electorates as well as candidates for their cooperation during elections.

Mr Leo also thanked polling officers who worked tirelessly to make elections successful. However, he was concerned about low turnout of electorates.
Thus, he appealed to BDP members to fight hard to win the constituency next month. ENDS