Opposition Pins Hope on Referendum

Minority parties turn to a national referendum, urging voters to reject the Constitutional Court bill Opposition parties in Botswana are pinning their hopes on a forthcoming referendum to overturn the recently passed Constitutional Amendment Bill, which seeks to establish a Constitutional Court. Despite strong resistance from minority parties and civic organizations, Parliament approved the bill on Monday. Reacting to the bill’s passage in an interview with The Botswana Gazette, Mabuse Pule, leader of the minority parties in Parliament, said the opposition is now focused on the upcoming referendum, which will allow voters to decide whether the Constitutional Court should be established.

“Parties opposed to the bill will now start campaigning to tell Batswana to vote ‘No’. We want a holistic constitutional review, not the piecemeal approach the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is imposing on Batswana,” Pule said urging Batswana to vote no. Opposition whip Caterpillar Hikuama expressed cautious optimism about the referendum outcome.

He said the bill’s passage was largely due to Parliament being under firm control, leaving little room for UDC MPs to oppose their leadership, even if some personally disagreed. “I am hopeful that Batswana will vote ‘No’ in the referendum. The bill managed to pass because the parliamentary system is controlled.

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I don’t think Batswana will give a thumb-up to the establishment of a Constitutional Court given the current economic challenges facing the country,” Hikuama said. Hikuama urged voters to consider why civic organizations, Dikgosi, opposition parties, and other stakeholders opposed the bill before casting their votes in the referendum. He also highlighted concerns about the process followed during the constitutional review, pointing to what he called “red flags” that should not be ignored.

“Before voting in the referendum, Batswana must ask themselves why so many key stakeholders opposed the bill, and reflect on the concerns raised during the constitutional review process,” he added. The opposition’s campaign ahead of the referendum is expected to become a key battleground for public opinion on the Constitutional Court and the broader constitutional reform process.

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