GABORONE Leader of the tripartite opposition pact, Otsweletse Moupo has urged candidates to work vigorously to win the forthcoming general elections and desist from satirising political rallies.
Speaking at the launching of the pact's manifesto in Gaborone over the weekend, Moupo said the quest for freedom from BDP rule must be their uniting force regardless of party inclination.
"Anybody who is against this pact is against good governance and democracy." He said pact members have a firm believe that BDP policies have over the years created glaring social and economic inequalities and thus must be done away with in the coming elections.
Moupo encouraged the candidates to use the manifesto as their tool to woo the electorate into their ranks.
He also assured pact followers that unlike the BDP leaders, they are not vying for elections for selfish personal aggrandisement but rather the drive to change the life of Batswana.
The economy, he said benefits a few citizens while some Batswana wallow in poverty In the manifesto, the pact states that it shall develop a dynamic, progressive and democratic cultural policy that will enrich and emancipate Batswana from all feelings of doubt and inadequacy and instil a sense of pride in their cultural heritage.
On political representation, the pact says that it shall introduce a system of proportional representation as a guarantee of political stability and national consensus.
The pact argues that the current system where the President is immune from both the legal process and political control is undemocratic.
If given the mandate to rule, the pact promises to observe the doctrine of separation of powers and ensure that parliament has the power to impeach the president for impropriety.
They also intend to ensure that all private funding for political parties and donor names are made public and create a state fund to support all political parties Once in government the pact intends to adopt a pay structure and conditions of service that reflect the peculiar nature of employment in specialised cadres such as teaching and the medical services.
On defence and security the pact government shall "formulate a national defence policy that will address not only the role of women in the military, but also the role of the military in peace times, civil defence forces and in operations other than war.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.