Botswana President Wins Battle for Control of Ruling Party

GABONONE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi maintained his grip on the nation’s ruling party after former Local Government Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi withdrew from an election for the top post, leaving him to stand unopposed.

Masisi fired Venson-Moitoi in December after she announced plans to stand for the party presidency at a two-day conference in Kang, about 400 kilometers (249 miles) northwest of the capital, Gaborone, that began on Friday. Venson-Moitoi alleged that there was an attempt to rig the vote, but lost a High Court bid to have the conference postponed.

Venson-Moitoi announced her withdrawal from the race on Friday, saying she wasn’t given the list of voting delegates and the names may have been tampered with to favor Masisi. She also alleged that her supporters had been harassed and intimidated.

“This election was rigged from day one and I will not be part of it because that would promote legitimacy to something I don’t believe in,” she told reporters in Kang. “I am not going back to court either, because that would be a waste of my time and money. The court did not address the issues I raised and it doesn’t have answers for me.”

Former Allies
Botswana is due to hold national elections in October and the ruling party’s infighting could undermine its bid to retain power, which it has held since independence from Britain in 1966. The southern African nation is the world’s biggest diamond producer after Russia

Ex-President Ian Khama hand-picked Masisi to succeed him by appointing him vice president in 2014. The former allies fell out after Masisi allegedly denied his predecessor benefits and set out to reverse some of his flagship policies, including a hunting ban on elephants and high levies on alcohol to curb consumption. Khama, who remains one of the country’s most influential politicians, then backed Venson-Moitoi to take over as leader of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party.

The BDP’s popularity has declined in recent years to a record low of 47 percent of votes in the last election in 2014. Masisi’s reelection as party leader is set to be confirmed later on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg Business News