23 Mar 2023

 Five candidates vying for the Bosele ward council seat are hopeful of victory ahead of the bye-election slated for Saturday in Gaborone.

The candidates are Mr Kaelo Kgomotso of Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Mr Isaac Moseki of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Ms Olebile Sesupo of Botswana Labour Party (BLP), Mr Mpule Maplanka of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and an independent candidate Mr Montsho Molomo.

They are all pinning their hopes on the about 1 773 Bosele ward electorates in the Gaborone Bonnington North constituency who will be casting their votes to determine the person to fill the shoes of the late councillor Ms Thabanyane Mmualefhe who died in January.

In an interview, Chairperson of BDP communications committee Mr Kagelelo Kentse said his party was convinced that it would retain the Bosele ward council seat.

“We believe we will retain both Bosele and Grootlaagte wards,” said optimistic Mr Kentse.

The ruling party communications committee chairperson said they had been receiving positive feedback from interactions with voters during house-to-house campaign.

Further, he said, their rallies had attracted good numbers which showed that people were eager to go with the ruling party.

Mr Kentse added that modern voters were enlightened and could not be swayed into the opposition rhetoric propaganda which does not offer any solution.

However, UDC Bosele ward campaign manager Mr Tshepo Moloko said his party was expecting nothing but a victory from the weekend by-election.

He said voters were unhappy, dissatisfied and disappointed by the ruling party’s slow progress to improve their lives.

He said electorates would vote for the UDC to send a clear message to the ruling party that people were unhappy about poor service delivery, poor roads, low Ipelegeng wages and high unemployment especially among youth.

“People are not happy and they want to send a clear message that they are suffering,” Mr Moloko said.

For her part, BCP spokesperson Dr Mpho Pheko said her party was well prepared to wrestle the ward from the ruling party.

Dr Pheko said their candidate was well acquainted with the area and had proved himself to be a community leader through his role in the Village Development Committee.

 As such, the BCP spokesperson said their candidate was someone who knew the challenges of the ward and was better positioned to serve the ward.

The BLP campaign manager, Ms Motshwariemang Kesiilwe said preparations were going well for their maiden participation in the elections since the party  formation.

“Though we go into the elections as underdogs, we are well-received in the area,” she said.

As such, Ms Kesiilwe said their candidate was there to complete despite that the party was still new.

Independent candidate, Mr Molomo said he was well prepared for the by-election and was ready for any outcome.

“I can assure you that something unusual will happen this weekend, we all stand a chance, even the new party can win,” he said.

Nonetheless, he said his campaign was not like that of political parties, which he said splashed money to lure voters

 However, he said despite the intense campaign people knew exactly what they wanted.

The Bosele ward polling stations are Bosele Primary School, Taung Primary School and Lot 6415 (Extension 20).

The late Mmualefhe had won the ward for BDP in the 2019 general elections by securing 612 votes, his closest competitor Mr Kaelo Kgomotso who by then represented the UDC got 487, followed by an independent candidate with 147 votes.

Other contesting parties were Alliance for Progressives, Botswana Patriotic Front and two other independent candidates.

Still on Saturday, voters in Grootlaagte ward in Ghanzi North constituency will cast their votes at Grootlaagte Primary School, Farm 142-NK and Farm 5-NK to elect a new councillor following the death of Ezekiel Kajuu on January 12.

During the 2019 general elections, BDP’s Kajuu won the council ward by 291 followed by Botswana Movement for Democracy’s (BMD) Mr Kopanelo Theko by 231 and UDC’s Ms Palesa Mothibi by 110 votes.

This time around, the BDP will be represented by Mr Petro Moretlwa while Mr Kopanelo Theko is for BMD. UDC has fielded Mr Sehakgamaleng Tjitemisa and Mr Jacob Malesele is an independent candidate. ENDS