Yesterday was polling day in the General Election in Botswana. 57 parliamentary seats are up for grabs along with council seats across the country. The Botswana Democratic Party has been in power since the country gained independence in 1966. The Liberal Democrats have been helping our sister party, the Botswana Movement for Democracy, which has been fighting the election as part of a coalition of opposition parties, the Umbrella for Democratic Change. In early August, their campaign suffered a huge blow when BMD leader and Vice Presidential candidate Gomolemo Matswaledi was killed in a car accident on the way back from a visit to Johannesberg.
Top Liberal Democrat campaigns guru Victoria Marsom, who has the by-election victories in both Brent and Eastleigh under her belt, has been working closely with the BMD for the past year as part of a project funded by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. She’s travelled to Botswana twice, once in June and she’s there now for this last week of the campaign. I had a bit of a surprise the other night when I found this from her on my Facebook timeline:
That said folder on Facebook has emblems for everything from Ros Scott’s campaign for the party presidency to the recent Scottish independence referendum. I went to have a look at it and thought of all the party’s brilliant campaigners who had put the artwork together for me to simply click into place.
I’m liking what that collection of campaign artwork inspired for the candidate Victoria was helping, Ndaba Gaolathe. “The calm revolutionary of our time” – what a strapline.
We’ll find out over the weekend whether he has been successful – but I certainly want him to be.
How, by the way, is this for an eve of poll rally:
Eve of poll rally in #Botswana#UDC@ndabagaolathe@AfricanLiberals@LibDemInternatpic.twitter.com/ruYkureeRI
— Victoria Marsom (@VictoriaMarsom) October 23, 2014
And if you want an idea of some of the work Victoria has been doing:
Eve of poll leaflet created by @VictoriaMarsom hitting the streets as we speak @ndabagaolathe @LibDemInternat pic.twitter.com/n6SbBWNUtl
— AfricaLiberalNetwork (@AfricanLiberals) October 23, 2014
And does this seem familiar?
@VictoriaMarsom hard at work distributing ‘blue letters’ to voters in @ndabagaolathe constituency @LibDemInternat pic.twitter.com/L4Ezt1DBGk
— AfricaLiberalNetwork (@AfricanLiberals) October 23, 2014
And this?
Activists in phone bank setup by @VictoriaMarsom hard at work calling voters @ndabagaolathe@LibDemInternatpic.twitter.com/IgIKRoxIb7
— AfricaLiberalNetwork (@AfricanLiberals) October 24, 2014
If you want to know more, Victoria has written an article for the forthcoming all-member issue of Ad Lib magazine.
UPDATE Sunday 9:35 am:
He did it!
And overall, the ruling party is 12 seats down on 2009 and UDC have won 14 seats so far according to Reuters.
Photo at the top of this post is of the Three Chiefs and Justice in Gaborone, Botswana by BoHeMIo
* Caron Lindsay is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings