- – targets 500 members per ward across the country
The Alliance for Progressives (AP) leadership will this Saturday roll out its National Recruitment and Mobilisation Drive in Shakawe, invading Okavango, which remains a stronghold for the Botswana Congress Party (BCP).
The campaign, which was officially launched in Gaborone last weekend following a similar initiative in Francistown, will this weekend reach the North West Region, led by party President Ndaba Gaolathe.
Seeking to expand the AP’s presence nationwide, the campaign targets recruiting and registering 500 new members per ward across the country.
The AP’s presence in Okavango has not been felt over the years, as the fight for dominance in the area has always been between the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP).
Currently, the majority of both sitting Members of Parliament and councillors are from the main opposition BCP. It remains to be seen if the AP’s National Recruitment and Mobilisation Drive in the region will shake both the BCP and BDP ahead of the 2029 general elections.
Speaking during the official launch of the campaign in Gaborone this past weekend, AP Vice President Wynter Mmolotsi shared that it is crucial for the party to be present in every ward across the country and increase its membership.
He stressed that for the AP to be a politically strong institution, it must spread across the country rather than being confined to a particular region as its stronghold. “We have to be a national party that is known in all corners of the country,” added Mmolotsi, emphasizing that the AP cannot afford to become a regional party.
The Member of Parliament for Francistown South said the objective of the drive is to ensure that every ward across the country recruits at least 500 members in the next four months of the campaign. Mmolotsi noted that a subsequent campaign will also seek to recruit another 500 members per ward.
Mmolotsi urged individual members to commit to recruiting a specific number of members across the country, revealing that his personal target as Vice President is to lure at least 5,000 members to the party during the first phase of the campaign.
“We should approach prominent people within our areas who have the potential to lure more members to the party,” he advised.
Following the campaign launch in Gaborone, Mmolotsi shared that the intention is for each ward across the country to start a house-to-house campaign to intensify recruitment. “It’s crucial that we secure these targeted numbers,” he stressed, noting that the central committee will allocate resources to each ward to facilitate the campaign.
Mmolotsi noted that the growth of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is dependent on the expansion of its contracting parties: the Alliance for Progressives (AP), Botswana National Front (BNF), and the Botswana People’s Party (BPP).
Meanwhile, Mmolotsi reiterated that the ideology of the AP is rooted in pragmatism, as a party focused on addressing the needs of the people. “How we behave as members of AP should, on its own, set us apart from other political parties,” he noted.
