23 Apr 2017

Three candidates will battle for the Tlokweng constituency parliamentary bye election seat slated for 13 May.
The candidates are Mr Elijah Katse of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Mr Masego Segokgo of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and an independent candidate, Ms Shirley Segokgo, who is a former specially elected Member of Parliament.

The three are the only official candidates for the constituency after they passed the nomination process on Friday, which is the official passage to run for the vacant seat.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) principal elections officer in the South East District, Ms Pelonomi Selemogwe-Kwaramba said the process went accordingly and that all prospective candidates fulfilled the legal requirement.
She encouraged voters who have lost or misplaced their voting cards to make follow-ups with their office for replacement.

Furthermore, she requested voters who were not allowed to vote during the 2014 general elections to make a follow-up with the office on why they were not allowed to vote.
“We want a high voter turnout,” emphasised Ms Selemogwe-Kwaramba.
Mr Katse became the BDP candidate after beating his rivals during the party primary elections in February, where he garnered 526 votes against Mr Thulaganyo Segokgo’s 302 and Dr Phinious Molefe’s 94 votes.
The UDC, however, did not hold primary elections, but identified Mr Segokgo as their compromise candidate.

The Tlokweng parliamentary seat fell vacant after the death of the then area Member of Parliament, Ms Same Bathobakae  of UDC who had defeated BDP’s Mr Olebile Gaborone and Mr Jacob Zachariah of Botswana Congress Party, which has now become part of the UDC. end