11 Mar 2016

Mr Keboetseng Lebotso of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has triumphed over the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) candidate Mr Robert Rantsho to win the Sekoma ward bye-election  over the weekend.

Mr Letsholo garnered 1118 votes and his opponent trailed behind with 955 votes, while 22 ballots were spoilt. There was an extra two ballot papers in the total which was attributed to miscalculations, but the candidates accepted the results nevertheless. From a total of total of 2 850 voters who were registered in seven polling stations that include the villages of Sekoma, Keng, Khonkhwa and Mahotshwane, 757 did not vote.  

Mahotshwane recorded the highest percentage of voters followed by Khonkhwa with 78 and 77 per cent respectively, while 71.9 percent voted at Sekoma and 69.8 at Keng . 

About 73 per cent of the registered voters cast their vote at this fiercely contested bye-elections, which came as a result of the passing of the area councillor Mr Makalare Ngomme in December. The late Ngomme had won the seat with 1 245 votes in the 2014 general elections under the UDC ticket. 

The BDP has this time turned tables to emerge victorious in a council ward which has been an opposition stronghold for several years. 

In a post-election interview, Mr Lebotso thanked residents of Sekoma ward for voting for him in large numbers. He said as a newly elected councillor, his objective was to unite the people of his ward and work together towards bringing developments in their area. 

The defeated candidate Mr Rantsho also said even though there were irregularities during voting, he was accepting the results. He also noted that he had no intentions of appealing the outcome of the elections.

The returning officer Mr Mosipidi Mokgolele said the bye-elections went well, despite cheating speculations that caused commotion during elections. He said he was also glad that both candidates accepted the results. ENDS