15 Sep 2015

Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has registered candidates, who will contest the Boswelatlou ward bye-election on October 3.

Political parties, which submitted names recently, were the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).

Ms Zubeida Raphael would represent BDP while Mr Themba Setimela would be the UDC candidate.

In an interview, Ms Raphael said she appreciated the support she got from BDP members. She said she successfully submitted all the required documents and was now ready for electoral battle.

Ms Raphael said she was determined to work hard to re-claim the ward after losing it to a UDC candidate in last year’s general elections.

Ms Raphael, who served as councillor for Boswelatlou until the past general elections, said during her tenure, she worked hard for the ward and some of her achievements included the putting up of streetlights in Nkomo road.

She also said she passed a motion regarding the Botswana Meat Commission effluent ponds to be relocated to a place not within the same vicinity with residents arguing that the ponds posed a health hazard to the residents living next to them and it was adopted by the council.

Moreover, she said she was able to solicit for a sponsor for Lobatse Marathon.

She said she would line up a sponsor to establish a women and children shelter in Lobatse.

For his part, Mr Setimela said he appreciated the nomination proceedings, adding that they had not experienced any irregularities. He extended his appreciation to IEC for inducting them a day before the nomination day.

He said IEC had enlightened them about requirements for the local government nominations.

Mr Setimela said he was determined to work tirelessly to retain the ward, which they took from BDP in last year’s general elections. Mr Setimela said Boswelatlou had been in the hands of the ruling party for the past 48 years, but there were still no proper developments.

He said, should he win the ward, he would consult residents in order to table resilient motions at the council for better development of the ward.

Meanwhile, Mr Ronald Masole, who is the constituency returning officer, confirmed the successful registration of the two candidates. Mr Masole lauded the candidates for the cooperation they displayed during the nomination process. Ends